I  O  cX  tc 

H  85 


THE 
HUNDREDTH  MAN 


BY 
FRANK  R.  STOCKTON 

AUTHOR  OF  "RUDDER  GRANGE,"  "THE  LADY,  OR 
THE  TIGER?"  "  THE  LATE  MRS.  NULL,"  "  THE  CASTING 
A  IV AY  OF  MRS.  LECKS  AND  MRS.  ALESHINE,"  ETC. 


PUBLISHED   BY 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 


NEW- YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1886,  1887, 
BY  FRANK  R.  STOCKTON. 

All  rights  reserved. 


THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS. 


THE    HUNDEEDTH    MAN 


CHAPTER  I 


N  one  of  the  liveliest  portions  of  a 
very  lively  metropolitan  street  was 
situated  the  popular  resort  known 
as  Vatoldi's.  It  was  a  restaurant 
which  owed  its  extensive  patronage 
to  the  inducements  it  offered  to  per- 
sons of  refined  tastes  and  moderate  purses.  It  was 
in  a  shopping  district,  and  from  early  breakfast-time 
until  a  very  late  dinner  or  supper  hour,  Vatoldi's 
seemed  never  to  be  without  customers,  and  John 
People  seemed  always  to  be  behind  the  little  desk 
near  the  entrance  of  the  long  and  handsome  room. 
In  fact  he  was  not  always  there,  because  his  manifold 
duties  required  his  presence  in  a  great  many  places, 
but  if  a  customer  looked  up  from  his  meal  and  did 
not  see  John  at  his  ordinary  post,  he  would  be  very 
likely  to  see  him  there  the  next  time  he  looked  up, 
and  thus  an  impression  was  produced  on  the  minds  of 
patrons  similar  to  the  impression  given  by  the  jug- 
gler who  makes  one  believe  that  because  an  object  has 
been  in  one  place  a  great  many  times  it  is  always 
there. 


2  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

John  People  was  a  young  man  of  vigorous  and 
rotund  figure,  with  a  slightly  upturned  nose,  very 
light-brown  hair  brushed  smoothly  on  his  well- 
rounded  head,  and  a  general  expression  of  sad  good 
humor  combined  with  sleepless  perspicacity.  Dutiful 
resignation  to  his  lot  raised  his  eyebrows  and  slightly 
wrinkled  his  forehead,  but  his  wide  open  eyes  gazed 
steadily  on  the  business  in  hand  as  if  they  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  future  or  with  retrospection,  no 
matter  how  the  brow  might  choose  to  occupy  itself. 

There  was  about  John  an  air  of  strong  independ- 
ence associated  with  a  kindly  willingness,  which  made 
it  a  pleasant  thing  to  watch  him  as  he  attended  to 
his  varied  duties.  He  was  the  chief  man  and  manager 
at  Vatoldi's,  and  although  the  cooks  cooked,  the  wait- 
ers waited,  and  the  little  boy  opened  the  door  for  the 
ladies,  as  they  had  been  taught  to  cook,  wait,  and 
open,  they  all  appeared  to  act  under  John's  personal 
direction,  as  if  they  had  been  an  orchestra  moved  by 
a  conductor's  baton.  He  was  not  the  owner  of  the 
establishment,  and  yet  he  was  the  only  visible  head. 
Early  in  the  morning  he  went  to  the  markets  and 
selected  the  most  desirable  meats  and  vegetables.  He 
personally  inspected  the  commodities  of  grocers  and 
fruiterers,  and  he  brought  a  keen  investigation  to 
bear  upon  the  necessary  supplies  of  wines  and  malt 
liquors.  All  expenditures  were  made  by  him,  and  all 
receipts  went  into  his  money  drawer,  and  were  daily 
deposited  by  him  in  a  neighboring  bank.  But, 
although  he  thus  stood  at  the  head  of  affairs,  there 
seemed  to  be  nothing  which  John  was  unwilling  to 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  3 

do.  If  a  truck  arrived  with  some  heavy  merchandise, 
John  would  put  his  hat  upon  his  smoothly  brushed 
locks,  and,  with  a  slightly  rolling  yet  energetic  step, 
would  proceed  to  the  sidewalk  and  give  what  direc- 
tions might  be  needed,  even  sometimes  lending  a 
very  strong  hand  to  a  piece  of  difficult  lifting  or  lower- 
ing. The  moment  this  duty  was  done  he  would  step 
vigorously  back  to  his  post,  hang  up  his  hat,  leaving 
his  locks  as  smoothly  brushed  as  ever,  and  be  ready 
again  to  receive  the  money  of  his  customers.  There 
was  a  young  man  who  acted  as  cashier  during  his 
superior's  occasional  absences  from  the  desk,  but 
nearly  all  the  money  that  went  into  the  till  passed 
directly  through  John  People's  hands. 

Vatoldi's  was  a  remarkably  well-ordered  establish- 
ment ;  its  viands,  its  service,  and  its  general  equip- 
ment were  all  of  the  best;  and  yet  its  prices  were 
extremely  reasonable.  To  combine  the  advantages  of 
the  two  classes  of  restaurants  generally  found  in 
American  cities  seemed  to  be  the  moving  principle  of 
John  People's  mind.  To  dine  or  lunch  well  at  Vatoldi's, 
one  did  not  need  to  bring  a  friend  with  him  to  share 
the  expense  and  help  eat  a  supply  of  food  over- 
abundant for  one  person.  Instead  of  that,  one  had 
enough,  paid  not  too  much,  and  went  away  with 
pocket  and  stomach  equally  satisfied.  There  was 
nothing,  however,  in  the  aspect  of  Vatoldi's  to  sug- 
gest the  ordinary  cheap  American  restaurant.  There 
were  no  shelves  filled  with  tin  cans  and  bottles,  no 
tables  spread  with  pies  and  cakes.  Everything  was  in 
tasteful  order,  and  placards  of  any  kind  were  totally 


4  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

tabooed.  Even  on  the  outer  front  one  read  but  the 
words,  above  the  plate-glass  door: 

"VATOLDI, 
BREAKFAST  AND  DINING  ROOMS." 

Yet  there  was  not  a  total  absence  of  display  of  viands. 
After  the  fashion  common  to  English  hostelries,  a 
large  round  table  stood  near  the  center  of  the  room, 
on  which  were  set  out  huge  cold  joints,  poultry,  and 
game,  in  order  that  such  persons  who  knew,  or  sup- 
posed they  knew,  exactly  what  they  liked  to  eat,  could 
say  to  the  waiter,  "Cut  me  a  slice  from  here,  or 
there,"  or,  "  Let  me  have  the  liver  wing  of  that  fowl." 
It  was  surprising  with  what  faithfulness  the  clear 
eyes  of  John  People,  looking  out  from  under  his  re- 
signed brow,  kept  themselves  upon  these  details. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  May,  and  the  weather 
was  getting  to  be  very  pleasant  for  outdoor  life,  and 
it  was  about  one  o'clock  in  the  day, — an  hour  at 
which  the  thought  of  Vatoldi's  began  to  be  very 
pleasant  to  a  great  many  people, — when  there  walked 
into  the  already  well-filled  room  a  tall  gentleman, 
who  took  his  seat  at  a  small  table  at  the  extreme 
upper  end  of  the  room.  As  he  walked  slowly  up  the 
whole  extent  of  the  apartment,  his  glossy  hat  held 
carefully  in  one  hand,  while  the  other  carried  his 
silver-mounted  cane,  most  of  the  people  seated  at  the 
tables  looked  upon  him  as  he  passed ;  and  he,  in  turn, 
gazed  from  side  to  side  with  such  particularity  that 
his  eyes  fell  upon  every  person  in  the  room,  to  many 
of  whom  he  bowed,  or  rather  nodded,  with  a  certain 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  5 

stiffened  graciousness  that  was  peculiarly  a  manner  of 
his  own.  This  gentleman  was  a  regular  habitue  of 
Vatoldi's,  and  was  a  personage  so  very  well  known  in 
the  metropolis  that  he  seldom  entered  an  assembly  of 
any  size  in  which  he  did  not  meet  some  one  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted.  His  name  was  Mr.  Stull, 
or,  as  signed  by  himself,  J.  Weatherby  Stull.  He  was 
not  only  tall,  but  large,  bony,  and  heavy.  His  clothes 
were  of  a  costly  quality,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
being  quite  new.  He  had  a  good  deal  of  watch  chain, 
and  wore  several  heavy  rings.  His  manner  was  grave 
and  even  solemn,  but,  when  occasion  required  it,  he 
would  endeavor  to  produce  upon  the  minds  of  his 
inferiors  the  impression  that  there  were  moments 
when  they  need  not  look  up  to  J.  Weatherby  Stull. 
This  was  a  concession  which  he  deemed  due  from 
himself  to  mankind. 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  very  rich  man,  and  his  business 
operations  were  of  various  kinds.  He  was  president 
of  a  bank ;  he  was  a  large  owner  and  improver  of 
real  estate,  and  it  was  generally  understood  that  he 
had  money  invested  in  several  important  enterprises. 
He  lived  with  his  family,  in  a  handsome  house,  in  a 
fashionable  quarter  of  the  city,  and  his  household 
affairs  were  conducted  with  as  much  state  as  he  con- 
sidered compatible  with  republican  institutions. 

In  addition  to  his  other  occupations,  Mr.  Stull  was 
the  proprietor  of  Vatoldi's,  but  this  fact  was  known 
to  no  one  in  the  world  but  himself  and  John  People. 

This  establishment,  which  he  had  owned  for  many 
years,  had  been  placed,  upon  the  death  of  the  former 
manager,  in  the  charge  of  John  People.  John  was  a 


6  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

young  man  to  hold  such  a  responsible  position,  but 
Mr.  Stull  had  known  him  from  a  boy  and  felt  that  he 
could  trust  him.  Mr.  Stull  was  a  very  good  judge  of 
the  quality  of  subordinates,  especially  in  a  business 
of  this  kind.  Those  who  gave  John  People  credit  for 
keeping  such  an  excellent  restaurant,  and  even  those 
who  supposed  that  the  never-to-be-seen  Vatoldi  might 
sometimes  help  him  with  advice,  gave  the  young  man 
entirely  too  much  credit.  He  was  capable,  quick- 
sighted,  willing,  and  honest,  but  he  seldom  did  any- 
thing of  importance  which  had  not  been  planned  and 
ordered  by  M.  Stull. 

This  gentleman  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  best  restau- 
rant keepers  in  the  world.  His  habits  of  thought,  his 
qualities  of  mind,  all  combined  to  make  him  nearly 
perfect  in  his  vocation.  Every  day,  after  John  had 
made  his  deposit  at  Mr.  StulFs  bank,  he  went  into  the 
president's  private  room  and  had  a  talk  with  him.  If 
anybody  noticed  his  entrance  it  was  supposed  that 
the  young  man  was  consulting  with  Mr.  Stull  in  regard 
to  the  investment  of  his  profits.  But  nothing  of  this 
kind  ever  took  place.  John  had  no  share  in  the 
business  and  no  profits,  and  the  conversation  turned 
entirely  upon  beef,  lamb,  mutton,  early  shad,  and 
vegetables,  and  the  most  minute  details  of  the  manage- 
ment of  Vatoldi's  kitchen  and  dining  and  breakfast 
room.  Every  afternoon  John  received  careful  direc- 
tions as  to  what  he  was  to  buy,  what  dishes  he  was 
to  have  prepared,  and,  in  general,  what  he  was  to  do 
on  the  following  day.  On  the  following  day  he  did 
all  this,  and  Vatoldi's  was  the  most  popular  resort  of 
its  kind  in  the  citv. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  7 

But,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  restaurant  Mr.  Stull  showed  a  talent  of 
the  highest  order,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
his  present  wealth  was  founded  on  the  profits  of  this 
establishment,  and  that  its  continued  success  was 
the  source  of  higher  pride  and  satisfaction  than  the 
success  of  any  other  of  his  enterprises,  he  would  not, 
on  any  account,  have  it  known  that  he  was  the  pro- 
prietor of  Vatoldi's.  His  sense  of  personal  dignity, 
and  the  position  of  himself  and  family  in  society 
positively  forbade  that  the  world  should  know  that 
J.  Weatherby  Stull  was  the  keeper  of  a  restaurant. 
He  had  thought,  at  times,  of  cutting  loose  from  this 
dangerous  secret  and  selling  Vatoldi's  ;  but  there  were 
many  objections  to  this  plan.  He  did  not  wish  to 
lose  the  steady  income  the  business  gave  him,  an 
income  that  could  always  be  depended  upon,  no  mat- 
ter what  the  condition  of  stocks  and  real  estate  j  he 
did  not  wish  to  give  up  the  positive  pleasure  which  the 
management  of  the  establishment  afforded  him ;  and 
he  felt  that  it  would  be  a  hazardous  thing  to  attempt 
to  sell  the  business  without  betraying  his  connection 
with  it. 

So  Vatoldi's  went  on,  and  Mr.  Stull's  position  went 
up,  and  John  People's  honor  and  vigilance,  the  rock 
on  which  they  both  rested,  was  always  to  be  depended 
upon. 

Mr.  Stull  always  took  his  luncheon  at  Vatoldi's, 
and  he  believed  that  the  fact  of  his  being  a  constant 
patron  of  the  establishment  was  one  cause  of  its 
popularity.  If  a  man  in  his  high  position  took  his 


8  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

meals  there,  other  people  of  fashion  and  position 
would  be  likely  to  do  the  same. 

"I  like  Vatoldi's,"  he  would  say  to  his  friends, 
"  because  you  can  get  as  good  a  meal  there  as  at  any 
of  the  high-priced  fancy  places,  without  having  to  pay 
for  any  nonsense  and  frippery.  Of  course  the  extra 
cost  of  taking  my  meals  at  one  of  these  fashionable 
restaurants  would  make  very  little  difference  to  me 
now,  but  I  should  never  have  reached  the  position  in 
which  I  at  present  find  myself  if  I  had  not  always 
made  it  a  point  to  get  the  worth  of  my  money.  And, 
besides,  it's  a  sensible  place.  They  give  you  steel 
knives  for  your  meats,  and  keep  the  silvered  ones  for 
fish  and  fruit,  just  as  it's  done  in  high-toned  English 
society.  And  you  are  waited  on  by  men  who  look 
like  clean  waiters,  and  not  like  dirty  gentlemen." 

As  on  this  fine  May  afternoon  Mr.  Stull  sat  at  his 
meal,  which  was  the  best  the  place  afforded,  for  in 
every  way  he  liked  to  set  a  good  example  to  those 
around  him,  his  eyes  continually  traversed  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  room ;  and  had  there  been  any- 
thing out  of  the  way  John  People  would  have  heard 
of  it  that  afternoon  when  he  came  to  the  bank.  While 
he  was  thus  engaged,  a  coupe,  drawn  by  a  pair  of 
small  sorrel  horses,  with  tails  trimmed  in  English 
fashion,  stopped  before  Vatoldi's,  and  a  handsomely 
dressed  young  lady  got  out  and  entered  the  restau- 
rant Mr.  StulPs  eyes  brightened  a  little  at  this  inci- 
dent, and  he  looked  about  to  see  if  other  people  had 
noticed  the  entrance  of  the  new-comer.  The  young 
lady  was  his  oldest  daughter,  and  he  had  always  en- 
couraged his  family  to  come  to  Vatoldi's  whenever 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  9 

they  happened  to  be  shopping  at  lunch-time.  He  did 
not  think  it  wise  to  say  so,  but  he  liked  them  to 
come  in  a  carriage.  Whenever  bad  weather  gave  him 
an  excuse,  he  always  came  in  a  carriage  himself. 
Nothing  would  have  pleased  him  better  than  to  have 
the  street  in  front  of  VatoldPs  blocked  by  waiting 
carriages. 

The  entrance  of  Miss  Stull  had  not  been  more 
quickly  and  earnestly  noticed  by  her  father  than  by 
John  People.  The  eyes  of  that  young  man  were 
fixed  upon  her  from  the  moment  she  leaned  forward 
to  open  the  carriage  door  until  she  had  been  con- 
ducted to  an  advantageous  vacant  table.  This  was 
not  near  the  one  occupied  by  her  father,  for  the 
young  lady  did  not  care  to  walk  so  far  into  the  room 
as  that. 

In  a  refrigerator,  near  his  little  desk,  John  kept, 
under  his  own  charge,  certain  cuts  of  choice  meats 
which  he  handed  out  to  be  cooked  for  those  cus- 
tomers who  had  specific  tastes  in  regard  to  such 
things.  In  one  corner  of  this  refrigerator  John  kept 
a  little  plate  on  which  always  reposed  a  brace  of  espe- 
cially tender  lamb  chops,  a  remarkably  fine  sweet- 
bread, or  some  other  dainty  of  the  kind.  When 
Miss  Stull  happened  to  come  in,  the  waiter  was 
always  immediately  instructed  to  say  that  they  had 
that  day  some  very  nice  chops  or  sweet-bread,  as 
the  case  might  be ;  and  the  young  lady  being  easily 
guided  in  matters  of  taste  of  this  kind  generally 
ordered  the  viand  which  John  had  kept  in  reserve 
for  her.  Sometimes,  when  she  did  not  come  for 
several  days,  John  was  obliged  to  give  to  some  one 


10  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

else  the  delicacy  he  had  reserved  for  her,  but  he 
always  did  this  with  a  sigh  which  deepened  the  lines 
of  dutiful  resignation  on  his  brow. 

Miss  Stull  was  a  young  lady  of  rather  small  dimen- 
sions, quite  pretty,  of  a  bright  mind  and  affable  dis- 
position, and  entirely  ignorant  that  there  was  a  man 
in  the  world  who  for  three  days  would  keep  for  her 
a  brace  of  lamb  chops  in  a  corner  of  a  refrigerator. 
John's  secret  was  as  carefully  kept  as  that  of  his 
employer,  but  the  conduct  of  Vatoldi's  was  no  greater 
pleasure  to  Mr.  Stull  than  were  the  visits  to  that  es- 
tablishment of  Mr.  StulPs  daughter  to  John  People. 

When  Mr.  Stull  had  finished  his  meal,  he  walked 
slowly  down  the  room  and  stopped  at  the  table  where 
his  daughter  still  sat.  That  young  lady  thereupon 
offered  to  finish  her  meal  instantly,  and  tal^e  her 
father  to  the  bank  in  the  coupe". 

"  No,  my  dear,'7  said  Mr.  Stull,  "  there  is  no  occa- 
sion for  that.  Never  hurry  while  you  eat,  and  be 
sure  to  eat  all  you  want.  Do  you  continue  to  like 
Vatoldi's?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  papa,"  said  Miss  Stull,  "  everything  is 
very  nice  here,  and  I  am  sure  the  place  is  respectable." 

"  It  is  more  than  respectable,"  said  Mr.  Stull,  a  little 
warmly.  Then,  toning  down  his  voice,  he  continued  : 
"  If  it  were  not  everything  it  ought  to  be,  I  should 
not  come  here  myself,  nor  recommend  you  and  your 
mother  to  do  so.  I  always  find  it  well  filled  with  the 
best  class  of  people,  many  of  them  ladies.  Bye-bye 
until  dinner-time." 

Then  he  walked  to  the  desk  and  paid  the  amount  of 
his  bill  to  John  People,  with  never  a  word,  a  gesture, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  11 

or  a  look  which  could  indicate  to  the  most  acute 
observer  that  he  was  putting  the  money  into  his  own 
pocket. 

Mr.  Stull  had  scarcely  creaked  himself  out  of 
Vatoldi's  when  there  entered  an  elderly  man  dressed 
in  a  suit  of  farmer's  Sunday  clothes.  His  trousers 
were  gray  and  very  wide,  his  black  frock-coat  was 
very  long,  and  his  felt  hat,  also  black,  had  a  very 
extensive  brim.  Deep  set  in  his  smooth-shaven  face 
were  a  pair  of  keen  gray  eyes  which  twinkled  with 
pleasure,  as,  with  outstretched  hand,  he  walked 
straight  up  to  the  desk  behind  which  John  People 
stood.  John  cordially  grasped  the  hand  which  was 
offered  him,  and  the  two  men  expressed  their  satis- 
faction at  seeing  each  other  in  tones  much  louder 
than  would  have  been  thought  proper  by  Mr.  Stull, 
had  he  been  present. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Uncle  Enoch,"  said  John. 
"  How  did  you  leave  mother  *? " 

"  She's  as  lively  and  chipper  as  ever,"  said  the  other. 
"  But  I  didn't  come  here  only  to  see  you,  I  came  to 
get  somethin'  to  eat.  I  want  my  dinner  now,  and  111 
stop  in  in  the  afternoon,  when  people  have  thinned 
out,  and  have  a  talk  with  you." 

As  he  said  this,  Mr.  Enoch  Bullripple  moved  towards 
the  only  vacant  place  which  he  saw,  and  it  happened 
to  be  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  little  table  at  which 
Miss  Stull  still  sat,  slowly  eating  an  ice.  At  first  John 
seemed  about  to  protest  against  his  uncle's  seating 
himself  at  this  sacred  table,  although,  indeed,  it 
afforded  abundance  of  room  for  two  persons;  but 
then  it  shot  into  his  mind  that  it  would  be  a  sort  of 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALii-ORMA 


12  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

bond  of  union  between  himself  and  the  young  lady  to 
have  his  uncle  sit  at  the  same  table  with  her.  This 
was  not  much  of  a  bond,  but  it  was  the  only  thing  of 
the  kind  that  had  ever  come  between  Miss  Stull  and 
himself. 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  had  taken  his  seat,  and  had 
ordered  an  abundant  dinner  of  meat  and  vegetables, 
he  pushed  aside  the  bill  of  fare,  and  his  eyes  fell  upon 
Miss  Stull,  who  sat  opposite  to  him.  After  a  steady 
gaze  of  a  few  moments,  he  said :  "  How  d'ye  do?" 

Miss  Stull,  who  had  thrown  two  or  three  glances  of 
interest  at  her  opposite  neighbor,  which  were  due  to 
his  air  of  countrified  spruceness,  now  gave  him  a 
quick  look  of  surprise,  but  made  no  answer. 

"  Isn't  this  Matilda  Stull  ?  "  said  the  old  man.  "  I'm 
Enoch  Bullripple,  and  if  Pm  not  a  good  deal  mis- 
taken your  father  had  a  farm  that  he  used  to  come 
out  to  in  summer-time  that  was  pretty  nigh  where 
I  lived,  which  is  a  couple  of  miles  from  Cherry 
Bridge." 

Miss  Stull,  who  at  first  had  been  a  little  shocked  at 
being  addressed  by  a  stranger,  now  smiled  and  an- 
swered :  "  Oh,  yes,  I  remember  you  very  well,  although 
I  never  saw  you  before  dressed  in  this  way.  You 
always  wore  a  straw  hat,  and  went  about  in  your 
shirt  sleeves.  And  you  would  never  let  us  walk  across 
your  big  grass  field." 

"  It  wasn't  on  account  of  your  hurtin7  the  grass/' 
said  Mr.  Bullripple,  "  for  you  couldn't  do  that,  but  I 
don't  like  to  see  young  gals  in  pastur'  fields  where 
there's  ugly  cattle.  I  hope  you  don't  bear  me  no 
grudge  for  keepin'  you  out  of  danger." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  13 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Miss  Stull.  "In  fact,  I'm  much 
obliged  to  you." 

When  John  People  looked  over  the  desk  and  saw 
his  uncle  talking  to  Miss  Stull,  he  turned  pale.  This 
was  a  bond  of  union  he  had  not  imagined  possible. 
He  felt  that  his  duty  called  upon  him  to  protest,  but 
when  he  saw  the  young  lady  entering  into  the  con- 
versation with  apparent  willingness  he  made  no 
motion  to  interfere,  but  stood  staring  at  the  two  with 
such  wide-eyed  earnestness  that  a  gentleman  coming 
up  to  pay  his  bill  had  to  rap  twice  on  the  desk  before 
he  gained  John's  attention. 

"  How's  your  father  ?  "  said  Mr.  Bullripple. 

Miss  Stull  replied  that  he  was  quite  well,  and  the 
other  continued :  "  That's  my  sister's  son  over  there, 
behind  the  desk.  He  pretty  much  runs  this  place  as 
far  as  I  can  make  out,  for  whenever  I  come  here  I 
never  see  nothin'  of  Vatoldi,  who  must  do  his  work  in 
the  kitchen  if  he  does  any.  John's  mother  used  to 
have  the  farm  that  your  father  owned  afterwards,  and 
he  was  born  there.  But  I  guess  you  don't  know 
nothin'  about  all  that." 

"  Was  that  young  man  born  at  our  farm  ? "  said 
Miss  Stull,  looking  over  towards  John  with  the 
first  glance  of  interest  she  had  ever  bestowed  upon 
him. 

"Yes,  thatfs  where  he  was  born,"  said  Mr.  Bull- 
ripple;  "but  he  lived  with  me  when  you  was  out 
there,  and  his  mother,  too,  which  she  does  yet ;  and  I 
wish  John  could  get  a  chance  to  come  out  there  some- 
times for  a  little  country  air.  But  Vatoldi  keeps  him 
screwed  tight  to  his  work,  and  it's  only  now  and  then 
2 


14  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

of  a  Sunday  that  we  get  sight  of  him,  unless  we  come 
to  town  ourselves." 

"  That  is  very  mean  of  Vatoldi,"  said  Miss  Stull, 
rising,  "  for  I  am  sure  everybody  ought  to  have  a 
holiday  now  and  then.  Good-morning,  Mr.  Bull- 
ripple." 

As  Miss  Stull  advanced  towards  the  desk  John 
People  knew  that  she  was  going  to  speak  to  him.  He 
felt  this  knowledge  coming  hot  up  into  his  cheeks, 
tingling  among  the  resignation  lines  on  his  brow,  and 
running  like  threads  of  electricity  down  his  back  and 
into  his  very  knees,  which  did  not  seem  to  give  him 
their  usual  stout  and  unyielding  support.  Whether 
it  was  from  the  manner  of  her  walk,  or  the  steady 
gaze  of  her  eyes,  or  the  expression  of  her  mouth,  that 
this  knowledge  came  to  him,  it  came  correctly,  for 
she  had  no  sooner  reached  the  desk  and  laid  her 
money  and  her  bill  upon  it,  than  she  said  : 

"  Your  uncle  tells  me,  sir,  that  you  were  born  on 
the  farm  where  we  used  to  live,  near  Cherry  Bridge." 

"  Yes  miss,"  says  John,  "  I  was  born  there." 

"  Of  course,  there  is  no  reason  why  this  should  not 
have  been  so,"  said  Miss  Stull,  pushing  her  money 
towards  John ;  "  but,  somehow  or  other,  it  seems  odd 
to  me.  "What  is  your  name,  please  ?  " 

John  told  her,  and  as  she  slowly  dropped  her  change 
into  her  pocket-book  Miss  Stull  began  to  think.  Had 
her  father  been  there  he  would  not  have  been  slow  to 
take  her  aside  and  inform  her  that,  for  a  young  lady 
in  her  position,  with  a  coupe  and  pair  waiting  at  the 
door,  it  was  highly  improper  to  stand  and  think  by  the 
desk  in  a  restaurant,  with  a  person  like  John  People 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  15 

behind  it.  But  Miss  Stull  was  a  young  women  of  a 
very  independent  turn  of  mind.  She  placed  a  good 
value  on  fashion  and  form  and  all  that  sort  of  thing, 
but  she  did  not  allow  her  social  position  to  interfere 
too  much  with  her  own  ideas  of  what  was  good  for 
her. 

"There  was  an  old  —  lady/7  she  said,  presently, 
"  whom  I  used  to  see  very  often,  and  her  name  was 
Mrs.  People.  I  liked  her  better  than  your  uncle. 
Was  she  your  mother?" 

"  Yes,"  said  John,  "  she  is  my  mother." 

"That  is  very  nice,"  remarked  Miss  Stull,  and  with 
a  little  nod  she  said  "  Good-morning,  Mr.  People,"  and 
went  out  to  her  coupe. 

John  smoothed  out  the  bank-note  which  she  had 
given  him,  and  on  the  back  of  it  he  wrote  "  M.  S.," 
and  put  the  day  of  the  month  and  the  year  beneath 
it.  He  left  a  space  between  the  two  initials  so  he 
could  put  in  the  middle  one  when  he  found  out  what 
it  was.  Then  he  took  a  note  of  the  same  value  from 
his  pocket,  and  put  it  in  the  money  drawer,  and  fold- 
ing carefully  the  one  he  had  received  from  Miss  Stull, 
he  placed  it  tenderly  in  an  inner  receptacle  of  his 
pocket-book. 


CHAPTER  II 


R.  BULLRIPPLE  returned  to  Va- 
toldi's  about  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon to  have  a  talk  with  his  nephew, 
but  the  young  man  who  had  charge 
of  the  desk  during  this  period  of 
comparative  inactivity  told  him  that 
Mr.  People  had  gone  to  the  bank. 

Mr.  Bullripple  reflected  for  a  moment. 
"Well,  then/7  said  he,  "I  would  like  to  see  Mr. 
Vatoldi." 

The  young  man  behind  the  desk  laughed. 
"  There  isn't  any  such  person/7  said  he.     "  That's 
only  the  name  of  the  place." 

Mr.  Bullripple  looked  at  him  fixedly.  "  I7d  like  to 
know,  then/7  he  said,  "who  is  at  the  head  of  this 
establishment.77 

"  Mr.  People  is.  If  you  want  to  sell  anything,  or 
if  you  have  got  a  bill  to  collect,  you  must  go  to  him.77 
Mr.  Bullripple  was  about  to  whistle,  but  he  re- 
strained himself,  his  eyes  sparkling  as  he  put  on  his 
mental  brakes.  "  Well,  then/7  he  said,  "  I  suppose  I 
must  wait  till  I  can  see  Mr.  People.77  And,  without 
further  words,  he  left  the  place. 

"  I  suppose  I  might  have  waited/7  said  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple, as  he  slowly  strode  up  the  street,  "  but,  on  the 

16 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  17 

whole,  I'd  as  lief  not  see  John  jus'  now.  No  Vatoldi, 
eh  ?  That's  a  piece  of  news,  I  must  say  !  " 

Mr.  Bullripple  did  not  try  again  to  see  his  nephew 
that  day.  He  spent  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  in  at- 
tending to  the  business  that  brought  him  to  the  city  ; 
and,  about  eight  o'clock,  he  found  himself  in  one  of 
the  uptown  cross-streets,  walking  slowly  with  a  visit- 
ing card  in  his  hand,  looking  for  a  number  that  was 
printed  thereon.  He  discovered  it  before  long,  but 
stopped  surprised. 

"  It  looks  like  a  hotel,"  he  said,  "  but  eighty-two  is 
the  number.  There  can't  be  no  mistake  about  that." 

So  saying,  he  mounted  the  few  broad  steps  which 
led  to  the  front  door,  and  looked  for  a  bell.  The 
house  was  one  of  those  large  apartment  houses,  so 
popular  in  New  York,  but  with  mansions  of  this  kind 
the  old  man  was  totally  unfamiliar.  He  did  not 
know  that  it  was  necessary  to  touch  the  button  by 
the  side  of  the  doorway;  but,  while  he  was  peering 
about,  the  hall-boy  saw  him  from  within,  and  admitted 
him.  The  house  was  not  one  of  the  largest  and 
finest  of  its  class,  but  its  appointments  were  of  a  high 
order.  The  floor  was  inlaid  with  different  colored 
marbles,  and  the  walls  and  ceiling  were  handsomely 
decorated. 

"Does  Mr.  Horace  Stratford  live  here?"  asked 
Mr.  Bullripple. 

"Yes/7  said  the  boy,  who  was  attired  in  a  neat 
suit  of  brown  clothes  with  brass  buttons,  "  fifth  floor. 
There's  the  elevator." 

The  old  man  looked  in  at  the  door  of  the  brightly 
lighted  elevator,  and  then  he  glanced  wistfully  at  the 


18  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

broad  stairway  which  wound  up  beside  it.  But,  re- 
peating to  himself  the  words  "  fifth  floor/7  he  entered 
the  elevator.  Thereupon  a  second  boy  in  brown 
clothes  with  brass  buttons  stepped  in  after  him, 
closed  the  door,  pulled  the  wire  rope,  and  Enoch 
Bullripple  made  his  first  ascent  in  a  machine  of  this 
kind.  He  did  not  like  it.  "  I'll  come  down  by  the 
stairs,"  he  said  to  himself ;  "  that  is,  if  they  run  up 
that  far."  Arrived  at  the  fifth  floor,  the  door  was 
opened,  and  Enoch  gladly  stepped  oat,  whereupon  the 
elevator  immediately  descended  to  the  depths  below. 
To  the  right  of  the  hall  in  which  he  now  found  him- 
self was  a  door  on  which  was  a  small  brass  plate 
bearing  the  name  "  H.  Stratford."  On  this  door  Mr. 
Bullripple  knocked  with  his  strong,  well-hardened 
knuckles. 

The  door  was  opened  by  an  elderly  serving-man, 
who  came  very  quickly  to  see  who  it  could  be  who 
would  knock  on  the  door  instead  of  touching  the 
electric  bell-knob.  Mr.  Stratford  was  at  home,  and 
when  the  visitor  had  sent  in  his  name  he  was,  with- 
out delay,  conducted  to  a  large  and  handsome  room, 
at  the  door  of  which  Mr.  Stratford  met  him  with  ex- 
tended hand. 

"  Why,  Enoch,"  he  said,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
How  do  you  do  ?  And  how  is  Mrs.  People  ?  " 

"  Spry  as  common,"  said  Enoch.  And  putting 
down  his  hat  and  umbrella,  he  seated  himself  in  a 
large  easy-chair  which  Mr.  Stratford  pushed  towards 
him,  and  gazed  around. 

The  floor  was  covered  with  rich  heavy  rugs ;  fur- 
niture of  antique  beauty  and  modern  luxury  stood 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  19 

wherever  it  could  find  an  inviting  place ;  the  walls 
were  hung  with  water-colors  and  etchings ;  here  and 
there  appeared  a  bass-relief  or  a  bit  of  old  tapestry  j 
some  book-shelves  of  various  shapes  and  heights 
were  crowded  with  volumes  in  handsome  bindings, 
larger  books  stood  upon  the  floor  j  while  portfolios  of 
engravings  and  illustrated  books  were  piled  up  on  a 
table  in  one  corner  of  the  room  j  articles  of  oddity  or 
beauty,  picked  up  by  a  traveler  in  his  wanderings, 
were  scattered  about  on  mantel-piece  or  cabinet-shelf  ; 
a  wood  fire  blazed  behind  polished  andirons  and  fen- 
der ;  and,  near  by,  a  large  table  held  a  shaded  lamp, 
some  scattered  books  and  journals,  a  jar  of  tobacco, 
and  the  amber-tipped  pipe  which  Mr.  Stratford  had 
just  laid  down.  Through  a  partly-drawn  portiere, 
which  covered  a  wide  doorway  at  one  side  of  the 
room,  could  be  caught  a  glimpse  of  another  apart- 
ment, lighted  and  bri ght- walled ;  and  beyond  the 
still  open  door  by  which  the  visitor  had  entered  he 
saw  across  the  handsome  hall,  with  its  polished  floor 
and  warm-hued  rugs,  other  doors  and  glimpses  of 
other  rooms.  Only  the  apartment  in  which  he  sat 
was  open  to  view,  but  at  every  side  there  came  sug- 
gestions of  light,  color,  and  extent.  Everything  was 
bright,  warm,  and  akin  to  life  and  living. 

Mr.  Bullripple  put  his  broad  hands  upon  his  knees 
and  gave  his  head  a  little  jerk.  "Well,  this  beats 
me  ! "  he  said. 

Mr.  Stratford  laughed.  "You  seem  surprised, 
Enoch,"  he  said.  "  What  is  it  that  <  beats '  you  !  " 

"  It  isn't  the  fine  things,"  said  the  old  man,  "  nor 
the  rooms,  without  no  end  to  ;em  as  far  as  I  can  see, 


20  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

for,  of  course,  if  you've  got  money  enough  you  can 
have  'em,  but  it's  the  idee  that  a  man,  with  a  top- 
sawyer  palace  like  this  of  his  own,  should  come  up- 
country  to  Mrs.  People  and  me,  with  our  scrubbed 
floors  and  hard  chairs,  and  nothin'  prettier  than  a  tea 
company's  chromo  in  our  best  room." 

"  Now,  come,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "  that  won't  do, 
Enoch,  that  won't  do.  Your  house  is  a  very  pleasant 
old  farm-house,  and  I  am  sure  that  Mrs.  People  makes 
my  room  as  comfortable  and  as  cozy  as  a  fisherman 
and  country  stroller  should  need.  And,  besides,  I 
don't  come  to  your  house  for  things  like  these,"  wav- 
ing his  hand  before  him  as  he  spoke ;  "  I  can  buy  them 
with  money;  but  what  I  get  when  I  come  up  to  your 
country  can't  be  bought." 

"  That's  true  as  to  part  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple. 
"  The  victuals  and  the  lodgin'  you  do  pay  for,  but  the 
takin'  in  as  one  of  us,  and  the  dividing  up  our  family 
consarns  with  you,  just  as  free  as  we  quarter  a  pie 
and  give  you  one  of  the  pieces,  is  somethin'  that's  not 
for  sale  neither  by  me  nor  Mrs.  People.  And  if  you 
can  stand  our  hard  boards  and  country  fixin's  after 
all  this  king  and  queen  f  urnitur',  we'll  be  mighty  glad 
to  have  you  keep  on  comin'.  And  that's  one  of  the 
things  that  brought  me  here  to-night.  I  wanted  to 
ask  you  if  we  was  to  expect  you  when  the  summer 
shows  signs  of  bein'  on  hand  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "I  certainly  expect  to 
be  with  you  this  summer,  and  as  early  as  usual.  Has 
anybody  caught  that  old  trout  in  the  meadow  brook?  " 

"No,  sir,"  said  Enoch.  "I  have  seen  him  already 
this  year,  an'  he's  jes'  as  smart  and  knowin'  as  ever. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  21 

Now  I  take  you  into  the  family,  Mr.  Stratford,  jus7 
the  same  as  to  that  trout  as  to  any  of  our  other  con- 
sarns.  If  you  ketch  him,  he's  your'n,  if  I  ketch  him, 
he's  mine.  It'll  be  fair  play  between  us,  and  I'll  wait 
till  you  come.  I  wouldn't  do  more'n  that  for  no  man." 

"  No,  I  don't  believe  you  would,"  said  Mr.  Strat- 
ford earnestly. 

"  There's  another  thing  I  want  to  ask  you  about," 
said  Enoch,  "  and  I  will  get  through  with  it  as  soon 
as  I  can,  for  I  don't  want  to  keep  you  up  too  late 
talkin'  about  my  affairs." 

"  Up  too  late  !  "  said  Mr.  Stratford.  And  he  smiled 
as  he  looked  at  the  clock. 

"  I  suppose  you  don't  mind,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple, 
"  settin'  up  till  ten  or  eleven,  but  I  do ;  and  so  I'll 
get  right  at  it.  What  I  want  to  say  is  about  my 
nephew,  John  People." 

"  Your  sister's  son  I "  said  Mr.  Stratford.  "  Is  he 
still  cashier  at  Vatoldi's  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple.  "  He's  that,  and  pretty 
much  everythin'  besides,  as  far  as  I  can  see.  I  don't 
know  that  he  washes  the  dishes,  but  I'm  sure  he  sees 
that  it's  done.  You  don't  happen  to  know  Vatoldi?" 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Stratford.  "  I  seldom  go  there,  as 
the  place  is  generally  crowded  with  ladies  about  the 
middle  of  the  day,  the  only  time  I  would  be  likely  to 
drop  in ;  and  I  don't  suppose  I  should  ever  see  the 
man,  if  I  did  go.  Is  your  nephew  in  any  trouble." 

"  No,"  said  the  other,  "  he  don't  seem  to  be.  It's 
me  and  his  mother  that's  in  the  trouble.  It's  our 
opinion  he  works  too  hard,  and  gets  too  little.  We 
like  to  see  him  come  out  to  the  farm  sometimes  to 


22  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

take  some  sniffs  of  the  air  he  was  born  in,  but  he 
never  gets  no  time  for  that,  and  as  for  makin'  money, 
Fm  sure  he's  not  doin'  it.  Now  I  thought  that  per- 
haps you  might  know  Mr.  Vatoldi,  and  could  tell  me 
what  sort  of  man  he  is,  so  I  could  know  what  sort  of 
ground  I'm  standin'  on  when  I  go  to  speak  to  him. 
Perhaps  you  might  have  heard  somethin'  about  him 
that  would  help  to  put  me  on  the  right  tack?" 

Mr.  Stratford  reflected  for  a  moment  before  answer- 
ing. " No,"  said  he,  "I  know  nothing  about  the  man 
whatever.  But  let  me  give  you  a  piece  of  advice, 
friend  Enoch.  If  it  is  considered  well  to  say  any- 
thing to  your  nephew's  employer  about  the  young 
man's  duties  and  his  pay,  let  him  say  it  himself.  You 
can  talk  to  him  about  it,  and  then  let  him  speak 
to  Yatoldi.  It  is  a  bad  thing,  for  all  parties,  for 
mothers  and  uncles  to  undertake  to  arrange  the 
business  affairs  of  persons  as  old  as  your  nephew. 
He  must  be  twenty-five." 

"  He's  all  of  that,"  said  Enoch,  "  and  it's  time  he  was 
doin'  better.  But  I  won't  trouble  you  no  more  about 
him.  Since  you  don't  know  Vatoldi,  there's  nothin' 
more  for  us  to  say  about  that.  I've  found  out  that 
you're  comin'  to  the  farm  this  summer,  and  that's 
enough  business  for  one  night,  an'  pretty  nigh  bed- 
time too."  And  Mr.  Bullripple  arose,  and  took  up  his 
hat  and  umbrella.  "Now,  I  come  to  think  of  it," 
he  said,  "  have  you  found  your  hundredth  man  yet ?" 

"No,"  answered  Mr.  Stratford,  with  a  smile,  "I 
can't  say  that  I  have ;  but  I  have  a  fancy  that  I'm  on 
his  track  and  that  I  may  come  up  with  him  before 
very  long." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  23 

"  I  often  ketch  myself  laughin'  out  loud/'  said  Mr. 
Bullripple,  "  an'  I  hope  I  won't  never  do  it  in  church, 
when  I  think  of  your  chasin'  after  that  hundredth 
man.  You  make  a  dive  at  a  feller  an'  ketch  him  by 
the  leg,  an'  hold  him  up,  an'  look  at  him,  and  then 
you  say  :  '  No,  he's  not  the  one,7  an'  drop  him,  an'  go 
after  somebody  else.  I  don't  believe  you'll  ever  get 
him." 

"  I  suppose  the  idea  seems  very  odd  to  you,  Enoch," 
said  Mr.  Stratford,  "  but  when  I  find  my  man  I'll  tell 
you  all  about  him." 

"  When  they  told  me  down-stairs  that  you  lived  on 
the  fifth  floor,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple,  as  he  stepped  in- 
to the  private  hall  and  gazed  about  him  at  the  tall 
clock,  the  antique  chairs,  the  trophy-covered  walls,  the 
many-hued  glass  of  the  great  lantern  which  hung 
above  him,  and  the  partly  curtained  doorways  here 
and  there,  "  I  had  a  sort  o'  pity  for  you  for  havin'  to 
lodge  up  so  near  the  top  of  the  house.  But  it  don't 
appear  to  me  now  that  you're  in  need  of  pity." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "  not  in  that  regard,  at 
any  rate.  As  I  own  the  whole  house  I  might  have 
had  any  floor  I  chose,  but  this  one  seemed  to  suit  me 
better  than  the  others,  being  high  and  airy,  and  yet 
not  quite  at  the  top  of  the  house.  There  are  two 
floors  above  me." 

"  You  own  this  whole  house ! "  exclaimed  Mr. 
Bullripple.  "  Well,  upon  my  word ! "  For  a  mo- 
ment he  stood  still,  and  then  he  resumed :  "  I  was 
thinkin',  as  I  was  sittin'  in  there,  that  I'd  get  Mrs. 
People  to  buy  some  bits  of  fancified  carpets,  and  to 
hang  up  some  more  picters  an'  things  about  the 


24  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

house.  But  I  guess  now  we'd  better  pull  up  an'  take 
•down  everything  of  the  sort  we've  got.  I  should  say 
that  after  all  this  you'd  like  us  better  in  bare  boards 
than  with  any  sort  of  fixin's  we  could  rig  up." 

"Now  listen  to  me,  friend  Enoch/'  said  Mr.  Strat- 
ford. "If  you  and  your  sister  make  any  changes  in 
that  delightful  old  farm-house  which  I  know  so  well, 
I'll  get  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and  catch  your 
big  trout,  and  never  give  you  a  chance  to  measure  or 
weigh  him." 

"  All  right,"  said  old  Enoch,  with  a  grin.  "  I  guess 
you'll  find  us  jes'  as  you  left  us." 

"Are  you  not  going  to  take  the  elevator?"  said 
Mr.  Stratford,  as  his  visitor,  after  shaking  hands  with 
him,  stepped  briskly  towards  the  stairway. 

"  No,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  like  my  legs  better." 
And  down-stairs  he  went. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple  to  himself,  when  he 
was  out  upon  the  sidewalk,  "  I  think  I'll  follow  that 
advice  Mr.  Stratford  give  me  not  to  speak  to  old 
Vatoldi,  for  I  don't  believe  there's  any  such  man,  but 
I  won't  let  on  to  John  that  I've  got  any  idee  of  that 
kind.  I'll  look  into  things  a  little  more  before  I  do 
that." 

Horace  Stratford  returned  to  his  library,  his  study, 
or  his  parlor,  whatever  one  might  choose  to  call  the 
room  in  which  he  took  his  ease,  or  did  his  work,  as 
the  case  might  be,  and,  resuming  his  seat  by  the 
table,  he  lighted  his  pipe.  He  was  a  man  of  thirty 
years,  or  something  more ;  young  enough  to  do  what 
he  pleased,  and  old  enough  to  think  what  he  pleased. 
To  these  two  pursuits  he  devoted  his  life.  Possessed 


TEE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  25 

of  a  fair  fortune,  he  invested  nearly  the  whole  of  it 
in  this  apartment-house,  which  had  been  built  ac- 
cording to  his  own  ideas,  and  which  yielded  him  a 
satisfying  income.  He  was  not  a  foolishly  eccentric 
man,  nor  a  selfish  one,  but  he  lived  for  himself,  and 
in  his  own  way.  However,  if  a  time  came  for  him 
to  live  for  other  people,  he  did  so  cheerfully,  but  he 
always  did  it  in  his  own  way. 

There  were  those  who  looked  upon  him  as  an  old 
bachelor;  others  thought  of  him  as  a  good  match; 
and  others  again  considered  him  as  a  hard-headed 
fellow  whom  it  would  be  very  unpleasant  to  live 
with.  But  the  latter  were  persons  who  had  never 
lived  with  him. 

Horace  Stratford  was  not  an  idler.  He  was  a  man 
of  ideas,  and  his  principal  business  in  life  was  to 
work  out  these  ideas,  either  to  please  or  benefit  him- 
self, or  for  the  pleasure  or  benefit  of  others. 

At  present  he  was  engaged  in  the  study  of  a  char- 
acter, or,  it  might  be  better  said,  in  the  search  for  a 
character.  It  had  come  to  him,  in  the  course  of  his 
reading  and  thought,  that  in  every  hundred  books 
on  a  kindred  subject,  in  every  hundred  crimes  of  a 
similar  kind,  in  every  hundred  events  of  a  like 
nature,  and  in  every  hundred  men  who  may  come 
within  one's  cognizance,  there  is  one  book,  crime, 
circumstance,  or  man,  which  stands  up  above  and 
distinct  from  the  rest,  preeminent  in  the  fact  that 
no  one  of  the  others  is  or  could  have  been  like  it. 

Horace  Stratford's  immediate  occupation  was  the 
discovery  of  a  hundredth  man  among  his  present 
friends  and  associates.  This  man,  when  found,  was 
3 


26  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  be  the  central  figure  in  a  piece  of  literary  work 
he  had  in  mind.  As  the  tests  he  applied  were  severe 
ones,  he  already  had  had  several  disappointments. 
No  one  of  the  persons  he  had  selected  had  been  able 
to  maintain  against  his  ninety-nine  competitors  the 
position  in  the  regard  of  the  investigator  to  which 
he  had  been  temporarily  exalted. 

Mr.  Stratford  sat  reading  and  smoking  until  about 
ten  o'clock,  when  he  was  called  upon  by  a  young  man, 
in  full  evening  dress,  with  an  overcoat  on  his  arm, 
and  a  crush  hat  in  his  hand.  This  gentleman  had 
just  descended  in  the  elevator  from  the  seventh,  or 
top,  floor ;  and  he  had  dropped  in  upon  Mr.  Stratford 
for  a  few  minutes7  conversation  before  going  out.  He 
was  a  younger  man  than  Stratford,  moderately  good- 
looking,  somewhat  slight  in  figure,  and  a  little  care- 
worn in  expression.  His  dress  was  extremely  correct, 
according  to  the  fashion  of  the  day ;  his  collar  was 
very  high,  and  his  patent-leather  boots  were  observ- 
ably pointed  in  the  region  of  the  toes. 

Stratford  was  glad  to  see  his  visitor.  "Will  you 
have  a  pipe  or  cigar  ? "  he  asked. 

"Neither,  thank  you,"  said  the  other.  "I  have 
given  up  smoking." 

"  Thorne,  you  astonish  me ! "  exclaimed  Stratford. 
"  Do  you  find  it  injurious  to  you?" 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Mr.  Thorne.  "  You  know  I  never 
smoked  very  much." 

"  You  were  the  most  moderate  smoker  I  ever  knew/' 
exclaimed  Stratford,  ".with  remarkably  good  taste  in 
regard  to  tobacco,  and  smoking  always  seemed  to 
give  you  so  much  actual  pleasure." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  27 

"That  is  all  very  true,"  said  Mr.  Thorne,  "  but, 
in  thinking  of  the  matter,  I  have  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  man  who  goes  into  the  society  that  I  go 
into  should  not  smoke.  A  cigar  after  dinner  is  sure 
to  leave  some  scent  upon  one,  and  one  should  not 
carry  that  into  a  lady's  drawing-room." 

"  If  I  were  you,"  said  Stratford,  "  I'd  give  up  the 
society  rather  than  the  cigar ;  but  I  think  it  is  not 
necessary  to  do  either.  I  smoke  as  much  as  I  like 
and  I  go  into  society  whenever  I  please,  and  I  have 
no  reason  to  believe  that  I  am  found  objectionable." 

"  It  is  the  right  thing  to  do,"  persisted  Mr.  Thorne. 
"  I  came  to  that  conclusion  day  before  yesterday,  and 
gave  up  smoking  from  that  date,  with  a  box  of  cigars 
on  my  shelf  that  I  had  just  opened." 

Mr.  Stratford  made  no  answer,  but  for  a  few 
moments  gazed  steadily  at  the  fire.  If  almost  any 
young  man  of  his  acquaintance  had  told  him  that  two 
days  before  he  had  given  up  smoking,  he  would  have 
paid  little  attention  to  the  statement,  and  would  have 
expected  to  see  that  young  man  in  a  week  or  two 
with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth.  But  if  Arthur  Thorne  said 
he  had  given  up  this  indulgence  he  believed  that  he 
would  never  smoke  again. 

"  Going  out  ?  "  presently  remarked  Stratford.  "  I 
should  think  you'd  get  dreadfully  tired  of  that  sort 
of  thing." 

"  I  do,"  said  Mr.  Thorne,  "  but,  of  course,  it  has  to  be 
done.  Have  you  been  buying  anything  lately  ?  "  he 
said,  looking  around  the  room. 

"  Nothing  but  experience,"  said  Stratford,  "  and 
that  is  not  on  exhibition." 


28  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mr.  Thorne  now  put  on  his  overcoat  and  departed. 
He  had  had  nothing  particular  to  say  to  Stratford, 
and  had  called  merely  because  he  considered  it  his 
duty  to  look  in  occasionally  on  his  friend. 

Mr.  Arthur  Thorne  occupied  apartments  on  the 
upper  floor  of  this  house.  His  rooms  were  not  so 
extensive  as  those  of  Stratford,  nor  so  richly  fur- 
nished; but  every  detail  of  their  appointments  had 
been  carefully  studied  by  Thorne,  and  executed  or 
arranged  under  his  own  supervision.  The  floors 
were  stained  a  dull  red,  and  upon  then  were  spread 
Kensington  rugs  of  the  most  somber  green  and  unim- 
passioned  yellow,  mingled  here  and  there  with  a  streak 
of  rusty  black.  The  walls  were  clay-color ;  some  red 
clay,  some  yellow  clay,  and  some  of  an  ashen-gray 
hue,  such  as  you  find  in  very  poor  sections  of  the 
country  where  farms  are  cheap.  The  doors  and  wood- 
work were  also  colored  in  various  shades  of  mud  and 
clay.  At  the  windows  were  heavy  curtains  of  sad 
browns  or  yellows.  Some  of  his  furniture  was  antique, 
consisting  of  pieces  which  he  had  "  picked  up w  after 
long  and  anxious  searches.  But  much  of  it  was 
modern,  and  invariably  of  that  class  in  which  the  con- 
struction is  plainly  visible.  He  had  a  large  rocking- 
chair,  the  back  formed  of  narrow  rods  and  the  bottom 
of  a  polished  board.  Other  chairs  stood  up,  as  strong, 
as  right-angled,  and  as  hard  as  the  character  of  the 
Puritans  who  used  the  chairs  from  which  these  were 
copied.  On  his  mantel-piece  stood  a  vase  of  white 
roses  which  had  been  dead  a  month  or  more,  but 
which  were  kept  with  great  care,  because  Mr.  Thorne 
knew  that  there  was  a  certain  harmony  in  their  tones 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  29 

which  they  had  never  possessed  while  living.  There 
were  etchings  on  the  walls,  most  of  them  tacked  up 
without  frames,  and  some  with  a  loose  corner  care- 
fully curled,  so  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  conven- 
tional ease.  There  were  Japanese  fans,  but  all  of  a 
subdued  tone,  and  over  the  corners  of  pictures  and 
by  the  sides  of  shelves  hung  pieces  of  drapery,  all  of 
them  suggesting  the  idea  that  they  had  once  been 
used  by  Arabs,  and  had  never  since  been  washed. 

Along  one  side  of  the  room  was  a  row  of  book- 
shelves, to  which  easy  access  could  be  had  by  getting 
down  on  one's  knees.  These  shelves  were  mostly 
filled  with  courses  of  reading,  many  of  which  Mr. 
Thome  had  begun,  and  some  were  nearly  finished. 
His  apartments  consisted  of  several  rooms,  and 
throughout  all  of  these,  one  perceived  the  same  har- 
mony of  tone.  Nowhere  was  there  a  single  touch  or 
point  of  bright  color  to  break  in  upon  the  lugubrious 
unison  of  the  saddened  hues  which  Mr.  Thorne 
believed  to  be  demanded  by  true  art. 

Unless  it  happened  to  be  very  cold  or  stormy,  Mr. 
Thorne  walked  every  morning  to  his  office,  a  distance 
of  some  three  miles,  wearing  no  overcoat,  and  carrying 
a  heavy  cane  in  his  hand.  He  was  not  a  very  strong 
man,  and  this  morning  exercise  frequently  interfered 
with  that  freshness  of  mind  and  body  with  which  he 
liked  to  apply  himself  to  his  work,  but  he  knew  it 
was  the  right  kind  of  thing  to  do,  and  he  did  it.  On 
certain  afternoons  in  the  week  he  hired  a  horse,  and 
rode  in  the  park;  and  this  he  did  with  a  serious 
earnestness  which  showed  that  he  was  conscientiously 
endeavoring  to  do  his  duty  by  his  physical  self.  Ab- 


30  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

stractly  he  cared  little  for  dancing,  preferring  much 
a  partner  on  a  chair  by  his  side  to  whom  he  could 
quietly  talk ;  but  he  had  devoted  a  great  deal  of  at- 
tention and  hard  work  to  the  study  of  the  "  german," 
believing  that  a  knowledge  of  that  complicated  dance 
was  essential  to  the  education  of  a  gentleman  of  his 
age  and  position  in  society. 

To  the  requirements  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Arthur  Thorne  gave 
zealous  heed.  He  was  fond  of  novels  and  the  ballads 
of  Macaulay,  but  he  read  Spencer  and  Huxley  and 
Ruskin,  and  was  a  steady  student  of  Rosetti  and 
Browning.  The  Proper,  in  his  eyes,  was  a  powerful 
policeman,  leading  by  the  collar  a  weeping  urchin, 
who  represented  the  personal  inclinations  of  Arthur 
Thorne. 

There  were  times  when  Mr.  Stratford  believed  that 
he  would  yet  find  his  hundredth  man  in  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple  or  in  Arthur  Thorne.  "  Neither  of  them,"  he 
said  to  himself,  "has  yet  done  anything  which  entitles 
him  to  preeminence  among  his  fellows,  but  I  believe 
they  possess  qualities  which,  under  favoring  circum- 
stances, would  send  one  or  the  other  of  them  to  that 
unique  position,  which  becomes  every  day  more  in- 
teresting to  me." 


CHAPTER  III 


HE  village  of  Cherry  Bridge  was  lit- 
tle more  than  a  hamlet,  lying  on 
the  banks  of  Cherry  Creek,  which 
came  down  from  the  mountains 
some  five  or  six  miles  behind  the 
village,  and  twisted  itself,  often 
very  picturesquely,  between  the  hills  and  through  the 
woodlands  of  the  lower  country.  Three  miles  from 
the  village,  between  the  creek  and  the  mountain,  lay 
the  farm  of  Enoch  Bullripple ;  and  about  four  o'clock 
on  the  afternoon  of  a  June  day,  Mr.  Horace  Stratford 
stood  on  the  farm-house  porch,  with  Mrs.  People, 
Enoch's  sister,  by  his  side.  He  had  arrived  at  the 
place  the  day  before,  and  was  now  going  out  for  his 
first  drive.  His  horse,  a  large,  well-formed  chestnut, 
with  good  roadster  blood  in  him,  stood  near  the 
porch,  harnessed  to  a  comfortable  vehicle  for  two 
persons.  This  was,  apparently,  an  ordinary  buggy, 
but  had  been  constructed,  with  a  number  of  improve- 
ments of  Mr.  Stratford's  own  designing,  for  use  on 
the  diversified  surface  of  the  country  about  Cherry 
Bridge.  The  equipage  had  been  sent  from  the  city 
a  day  or  two  before,  but  this  was  the  first  time  Mrs. 
People  had  seen  it  in  its  entirety,  and  she  gazed  at 
it  with  much  interest. 

31 


32  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mrs.  People  was  a  pleasant-faced  personage  of 
about  forty-five,  whose  growth  had  seemed  to  in- 
cline rather  more  towards  circumference  than  alti- 
tude. She  was  dressed  neatly,  but  with  a  decidedleaning 
towards  ease  in  the  arrangement  of  her  garments. 

"  That's  a  better  horse  than  you  had  last  year,  Mr. 
•  Stratford/'  she  said ;  "  and  I  expect  you'll  get  tired 
of  a  day's  driving  as  soon  as  he  does.  He  stands 
well  without  hitchin'  too ;  but  you'd  better  take  a 
tie-strap  along  with  you  to-day,  for  Mrs.  Justin  has 
got  one  of  them  little  dust-brush  dogs  that  seems  to 
have  been  born  with  a  spite  against  horses.  She 
brought  him  from  town  with  her,  and  he  even 
started  old  Janet  when  I  drove  there  last  Saturday." 

"  Why  do  you  think  I  am  going  to  Mrs.  Justin's  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  Stratford. 

"  Goodness ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  People,  suddenly 
turning  the  plenitude  of  her  countenance  upon  him, 
"  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  you've  quarreled  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not,"  answered  Mr.  Stratford,  "  but  it 
seems  odd  that  you  should  take  it  as  a  matter  of 
course  that  I  should  go  there  the  first  time  I  drive 
out." 

"  Fm  sure  I  never  thought  of  anything  else,"  said 
Mrs.  Peop]e ;  "and  besides,  you'll  be  obliged  to  go 
because  I  told  her  you  were  comin'.  I  was  at  the 
store  in  the  village  yesterday  mornin',  when  she 
drove  up,  and  says  I  to  her,  '  Mrs.  Justin,  you'll 
have  another  visitor  to-morrow,  for  Mr.  Stratford 
sent  up  his  horse  and  buggy  yesterday,  and  he'll  be 
here  himself  to-night,  and  he'll  drive  over  to  your 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  33 

house  to-morrow  afternoon.  Pm  not  dead  sure  that 
he  won't  come  in  the  morning  but  I  don't  think  he 
will,  because  the  afternoon  is  his  time  for  goin'to 
see  people,  and  not  disturbin'  'em  before  dinner  when 
they  're  busy  with  their  own  concerns.'  So,  you  see, 
she'll  be  expectin'  you,  Mr.  Stratford.  And,  knowin' 
that,  I  never  doubted  you'd  go." 

Mr.  Stratford  smiled. ,  "  I  shall  certainly  go  now, 
Mrs.  People,"  he  said,  "  even  if  1  had  not  intended  to 
go  before.  But  what  did  you  mean  when  you  said 
that  Mrs.  Justin  would  have  another  visitor  ?  " 

"I  meant,  she's  got  two  now.  They  was  in  the 
carriage  with  her.  One  was  a  young  girl,  not  twenty, 
I  should  say,  settin'  on  the  back  seat  with  her.  The 
other  was  a  gentleman  of  some  kind  ;  young,  I  think, 
but  I  couldn't  see  him  very  well,  havin7  his  back 
turned  to  me,  lookin'  at  Mr.  Pritchett  with  the  hind 
wheel  of  his  hay- wagon  broke  and  a  rail  tied  under. 
From  the  way  his  back  moved  I  think  he  wanted  to 
tell  Mr.  Pritchett  what  to  do,  but  he  didn't,  and  Mrs. 
Justin  she  said  she'd  be  glad  to  see  you  mornin'  or 
afternoon.  And  then  that  hare-lipped  young  man 
that  David  Betts  has  hired  to  help  him  in  his  store 
came  out  to  get  her  orders,  and  I  left  without  bein' 
made  acquainted  with  her  company,  for,  of  all  things, 
I  think  it's  the  meanest  to  stop  and  listen  to  what  your 
neighbor  is  orderin'  at  the  store,  and  then  go  about 
wonderin'  why  they  don't  order  more  of  one  thing, 
and  get  it  cheaper,  or  go  without  some  other  thing, 
or  else  make  it  themselves  at  home,  which,  ten  to  one, 
they  couldn't,  not  knowin'  how,  and  even  if  they  did 


34  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

know,  it  would  cost  'em  more  to  make  it  than  buy  it, 
they  knowin'  their  own  business,  anyhow,  better'n 
anybody  else." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  going  down  the  porch 
steps,  "I  am  not  sure  that  I  am  glad  to  hear  that 
Mrs.  Justin  has  strangers  with  her ;  and  I  shall  re- 
member what  you  said,  Mrs.  People,  about  tying  my 
horse." 

Mrs.  Justin  owned  the  only  house  in  the  region  of 
Cherry  Bridge  which  could  rightly  be  termed  a 
country  mansion.  It  was  spacious  and  handsome, 
surrounded  by  well-kept  grounds,  gardens,  and  great 
trees,  and  the  prettiest  part  of  Cherry  Creek,  or,  as 
Mrs.  Justin  always  persisted  in  calling  it,  Cherry 
River,  flowed  tranquilly  at  the  bottom  of  the  lawn. 
A  mile  away,  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  lay  the 
farm  on  which  John  People  was  born,  and  which  now 
belonged  to  Mr.  Stull.  The  house  had  been  re- 
modeled and  enlarged,  but  the  Stull  family  had 
ceased  to  come  there  in  the  summer-time.  The  con- 
stantly increasing  elevation  of  their  social  position 
rendered  the  fashionable  watering-places  much  more 
suitable  summer  residences  than  this  out-of-the-way 
country  place,  which  was  now  leased  to  a  farmer. 

Mrs.  Justin  had  no  neighbors  on  whom  she  could 
depend  for  social  intercourse.  There  was  a  clergy- 
man at  the  railroad  town,  eight  miles  away,  and  a 
doctor's  family  in  the  village,  and  she  saw  a  good 
deal  of  Mr.  Stratford,  who  usually  spent  a  portion  of 
his  summer  at  the  Bullripple  farm.  But  when  Mrs. 
Justin  wanted  company,  she  invited  her  friends  to  her 
house,  and  thus,  during  her  residence  in  this  summer 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  35 

home,  she  held  the  reins  of  her  social  relations  in  her 
own  hands.  She  came  here  every  year  because  she 
loved  the  place  for  its  own  sake,  and  because  it  was 
the  home  in  which  her  late  husband  had  taken  such 
pride  and  delight.  This  husband,  a  good  deal  older 
than  Mrs.  Justin,  had  died  some  four  years  ago  j  and, 
although  the  world  was  now  obliged  to  look  upon 
Mrs.  Justin  as  a  widow,  she  did  not  consider  herself 
in  that  light.  To  her  it  was  as  if  she  had  married 
again, —  married  the  memory  of  her  husband, —  and 
to  this  memory  she  was  as  constant  as  she  had  been 
to  the  man  himself.  She  was  still  young  and  charm- 
ing to  look  upon,  and  there  had  been  those  who  had 
ventured  to  hint  at  the  possibility  that  she  might 
marry  again,  but  the  freezing  sternness  with  which 
the  slightest  of  these  hints  had  been  received  had 
warned  all  who  wished  to  continue  to  be  her  friends 
not  to  put  their  feet  upon  her  sacred  ground. 
There  was  not  a  man,  who  knew  her  well  enough  to 
like  her  well,  who  now  would  have  dared  to  tell  her 
he  loved  her  any  more  than  he  would  have  dared  to 
telpher  so  during  the  life-time  of  her  husband. 

Mrs.  Justin  had  her  life-work,  in  which  she  took  a 
warm  and  enduring  interest.  The  object  of  her 
thought  and  labor,  especially  during  that  part  of 
the  year  which  she  spent  in  the  city,  was  the  higher 
education  of  woman ;  and  her  plans  for  carrying  out 
this  purpose  were  very  effectual,  but  of  a  simple  and 
quiet  nature.  She  belonged  to  a  society  which  did 
not  have  for  its  object  the  establishment  of  colleges 
or  similar  institutions  for  young  women,  but  aimed 
solely  to  assist,  in  the  most  private  and  unobtrusive 


36  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

way,  those  who  wished  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
such  institutions  as  already  existed,  and  were  not 
able  to  do  so.  Many  a  girl  who  had  gone  through 
college  with  high  honors  would  never  have  been  able 
to  touch  the  hem  of  a  freshman's  dress  had  it  not 
been  for  the  unseen  but  entirely  sufficient  support 
afforded  by  the  association  of  which  Mrs.  Justin  was 
the  head  and  front. 

In  this  enterprise  Horace  Stratford  had  long  been 
a  hearty  fellow- worker,  and  many  of  its  best  results 
were  due  to  his  interest  in  its  object,  and  knowledge 
of  men  and  things.  He  had  known  Mrs.  Justin's 
husband,  and  it  was  on  his  account  that  he  had  first 
come  into  this  region ;  and  now,  for  some  years,  he 
had  made  a  home  in  the  Bullripple  house,  which  stood 
in  the  midst  of  a  country  which  especially  suited  his 
summer  moods. 

Mrs.  Justin  and  Stratford  had  been  sitting  on  her 
piazza  for  about  ten  minutes  when  he  remarked :  "  I 
thought  you  had  visitors  here." 

•"  So  I  have,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  but  they  have  gone 
for  a  walk.  One  of  them  is  Gay  Armatt.  You 
remember  her,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  I  remember  the  name,  but  not  the  person." 

"You  ought  to  remember  her,"  said  Mrs.  Justin. 
"  I  expect  her  to  be  the  brightest  jewel  in  my  crown, 
if  I  ever  get  one.  She  is  the  girl  we  sent  to  Astley 
University,  and  she  has  just  been  graduated  ahead  of 
everybody — young  men  as  well  as  her  sister  students." 

"  What  are  her  strong  points  ?  "  asked  Stratford. 

"  Mathematics  and  classics,"  answered  Mrs.  Justin, 
and  the  present  ambition  of  her  life  is  to  continue  her 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  37 

studies,  and  get  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  j  and,  knowing 
her  as  well  as  I  do,  I  believe  she  will  succeed." 

"  I  now  remember  hearing  of  the  girl,"  said  Strat- 
ford. "  But  who  is  your  other  visitor ! " 

"  That  is  Mr.  Crisman,  to  whom  Gay  is  engaged  to 
be  married." 

"  Indeed ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Stratford,  "  I  must  say 
the  young  lady  does  not  seem  to  be  idling  away  any 
of  her  time.  How  old  is  she  ?  And  was  this  man  her 
fellow-student  ? " 

"  She  is  over  twenty,"  said  Mrs.  Justin  ;  "  and  Mr. 
Crisman  is  not  a  student  at  all.  He  is  in  business  in 
the  city.  They  have  been  engaged  for  more  than  a 
year,  and  will  be  married  next  winter.  And  now,  how 
much  more  do  you  want  to  know!  I  see  by  your 
looks  that  you  are  not  satisfied." 

"  I  like  to  know  as  much  as  possible  about  people 
with  whom  I  am  going  to  associate,"  said  Stratford, 
"  and  I  cannot  help  wondering  why  you  have  those 
young  persons  here." 

"  Gray's  family  live  in  Maryland,"  said  Mrs.  Justin, 
"  but  I  did  not  want  her  to  go  down  there  this  sum- 
mer. I  think  her  relatives  have  an  idea  that  she  has 
studied  enough,  and  I  am  afraid  of  their  influence 
upon  her.  Here  she  will  have  every  opportunity  to 
work  as  much  as  anyone  ought  to  in  the  summer- 
time j  and  I  flatter  myself  that  my  influence  will  be 
good  for  her.  I  believe  that  Gay  has  an  exception- 
ably  fine  future  before  her,  and  I  don't  intend  to  drop 
her  until  I  see  her  enter  upon  it.  And  I  couldn't 
invite  her  here  without  asking  Mr.  Crisman  to  come 
and  spend  his  Sundays  with  her,  and  his  vacation, 
4 


38  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

when  he  gets  it,  which  will  be  in  August,  I  think.  He 
would  have  done  all  that  if  she  had  gone  to  Maryland." 

"  But  haven't  you  any  fears/'  asked  Stratford, 
"  that  the  girl's  marriage  will  be  an  effectual  extin- 
guisher to  this  brilliant  future  that  you  talk  of  1 " 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  answered  Mrs.  Justin  warmly. 
"  That  has  all  been  settled.  Gay  and  I  have  talked  it 
over,  and  we  have  planned  out  everything.  The 
marriage  is  not  to  interfere  in  the  least  with  her 
studies  and  her  future  vocation  in  life.  There  is  no 
earthly  reason  why  it  should,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad 
to  see  another  proof  in  support  of  the  fact  that  a 
woman  need  not  remain  a  spinster  in  order  to  become 
eminent  in  art,  science,  or  anything  else.  Here  they 
are  now."  And  the  young  couple  coming  up  the 
steps  of  the  piazza,  Mr.  Stratford  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  them. 

After  a  few  minutes'  conversation  Miss  Armatt  and 
her  companion  went  into  the  house ;  and  Mr.  Strat- 
ford, as  he  arose  to  take  leave  of  Mrs.  Justin,  re- 
marked :  "  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  girl  is 
over  twenty  ?  She  doesn't  look  it." 

"  She  was  nearly  seventeen  when  I  first  met  her, 
four  years  ago,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  and  she  was  then 
better  grounded  in  mathematics  than  most  students 
of  twenty.  How  do  you  like  her  ? " 

"  As  far  as  looks  go  I  think  she  is  charming,"  said 
Mr.  Stratford. 

"And  you  will  like  her  just  as  much  in  every  other 
way,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  as  she  shook  hands  with  him. 
"  Don't  forget  that  you  are  to  dine  with  us  to-mor- 
row." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  39 

Mrs.  Justin's  country  dinner-hour  was  three  o'clock  j 
and  after  that  meal  was  over  the  next  day,  Stratford 
and  Mr.  Crisman  sat  together  for  an  hour  smoking, 
and  talking.  Mr.  Crisman  did  most  of  the  talking, 
and  he  told  his  companion  a  great  deal  about  himself 
and  his  business,  and  also  stated  a  good  many  opinions 
he  had  formed  in  regard  to  the  public  questions  of 
the  day.  Mr.  Stratford  did  not  say  much,  but  he 
smoked  very  steadily,  and  was  an  admirable  listener. 

"  Well,"  said  Crisman,  when,  at  last,  he  rose  and 
whisked  away  with  his  handkerchief  some  fallen 
ashes  from  his  coat,  "I  am  going  to  look  up  Miss 
Armatt,  and  see  if  we  can't  have  a  row  on  that  little 
river,  as  Mrs.  Justin  calls  it,  although  I  should  say  it 
would  have  to  grow  a  great  deal  before  it  would  have 
a  right  to  that  name.  I  have  got  to  make  the  most 
of  my  time,  you  know,  as  I  start  back  to  town  early 
to-morrow  morning." 

"  You  will  find  the  navigation  of  the  creek  rather 
difficult,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "  until  you  understand 
its  windings  and  its  shallows." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  mind  that  sort  of  thing  ! "  exclaimed 
Crisman.  "  If  we  stick  fast  anywhere,  I'll  roll  up  my 
trousers,  jump  out,  and  push  her  off.  I'm  used  to 
roughing  it." 

Stratford  said  no  more,  but  he  noticed  that  shortly 
afterwards  Miss  Armatt  and  her  fianc6  started  for  a 
stroll  in  the  woods,  and  did  not  go  upon  the  water. 

Early  on  the  Monday  Mr.  Crisman  went  away  to 
resume  his  weekly  business  career  in  the  city  ;  and  on 
Tuesday  morning  Mr.  Stratford  found  himself  again 
at  Mrs.  Justin's  house.  He  came  this  time  on  busi- 


40  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ness,  as  the  lady  wished  to  consult  him  in  regard  to 
some  plans  she  was  making  for  future  work.  Miss 
Gay,  being  left  to  her  own  companionship,  concluded 
to  take  a  walk  along  the  shaded  banks  of  the  Cherry 
River.  There  was  no  doubt  in  her  mind  as  to  the 
propriety  of  this  designation.  Her  affection  for  Mrs. 
Justin  was  so  warm  that  if  that  lady  had  called  the 
little  stream  a  lake,  Gray  Armatt  would  have  thought 
of  it  only  as  Cherry  Lake. 

No  one  who  did  not  know  Miss  Gay,  and  who  now 
saw  her  strolling  by  the  waterside,  would  have  con- 
nected her  in  his  mind  with  differential  calculus  or 
Sophocles  in  the  original.  In  coloring  she  somewhat 
resembled  Mrs.  Justin,  having  light  hair  and  dark 
eyes,  but  there  the  similarity  ceased,  for  one  was 
somewhat  tall,  with  the  grace  of  a  woman,  and  the 
other  was  somewhat  short,  with  the  grace  of  a  girl. 

Miss  Gay  was  in  a  very  cheery  mood,  as  she  slowly 
made  her  way  under  the  trees  and  the  sometimes  too 
familiarly  bending  bushes  which  bordered  the  banks 
of  the  stream  j  and  stopping  now  and  then  in  some 
open  space,  where  the  glorious  sun  of  June  sprinkled 
his  gold  on  the  leaves  and  the  water,  and  filled  the 
petals  of  the  wild  flowers  that  moved  their  fragile 
stems  in  the  gentle  breeze  with  a  warm  purple  light. 
She  had  a  secret  this  morning ;  it  was  not  much  of  a 
secret,  but  it  was  too  much  for  her  to  keep  to  herself ; 
she  must  tell  it  to  some  one  or  something.  A  little 
bird  sat  on  the  twig  of  a  tree,  which  still  swayed  on 
account  of  the  youthful  haste  with  which  he  had 
alighted  upon  it.  Gay  stood  still  and  looked  at 
him. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  41 

"  Little  bird/7  she  said,  "  I  will  tell  you  my  secret. 
I  must  tell  it  to  somebody,  and  I  know  it  will  be  safe 
with  you.  This  is  my  birthday,  and  I  am  twenty-one 
years  old.  I  wouldn't  tell  Mrs.  Justin  because  she 
would  have  been  sure  to  make  me  a  present,  or  do 
something  for  me  on  account  of  the  day,  and  she  has 
done  so  much  for  me  already  that  I  wouldn't  have 
her  do  that.  But  I  can  tell  you,  little  bird,  and  be 
quite  sure  that  you  won't  think  that  I  expect  you  to 
give  me  anything." 

The  little  bird  bobbed  his  head  around  and  looked 
at  her  with  one  eye ;  then  he  bobbed  it  again  and 
looked  at  her  with  the  other  j  after  which  he  fluffed 
up  his  breast-feathers  with  an  air  as  though  he  would 
say :  "So  old  as  that !  I  am  sure  you  don't  look  it ! " 
And  then  he  pressed  his  feathers  down  over  the 
secret  and  flew  away. 

Miss  Gay  walked  on.  "  This  is  the  most  charming 
birthday  I  ever  had,"  she  said.  "  I  think  it  is  because 
I  feel  so  free,  and  so  glad  that  I  have  got  through 
with  all  that  hard  study.  And  now  I  am  going  to 
breathe  a  little  before  I  begin  again,  and  I  want  every 
one  of  you  to  know  —  birds  over  there  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  butterflies  on  the  bank,  and  dragon- 
flies  skimming  about  over  the  surface  of  the  water, 
yes,  and  even  the  fish  which  I  can  see  whisking  them- 
selves around  down  there,  and  you,  whatever  you  were, 
who  flopped  into  the  water  just  ahead  of  me  without 
letting  me  see  you,  as  if  I  would  hurt  you,  you 
foolish  thing —  I  want  you  all  to  know  what  a  charm- 
ing thing  it  is  to  breathe  a  little  before  you  begin 
again ;  though  I  don't  believe  any  of  you  ever  do 


42  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

begin  again,  but  just  keep  on  always  with  what  you 
have  to  do." 

And  so  she  walked  on  until  the  stream  made  a  sud- 
den bend  to  the  left,  and  then  she  took  a  path  which 
led  through  the  trees  to  the  right,  into  the  open  fields, 
where  she  strolled  over  the  grass  and  by  the  hedge- 
rows, inhaling,  as  she  went,  all  the  tender  odors  of  the 
youth  of  summer.  Her  course  now  turned  towards 
the  house  and  the  farm  buildings ;  and  after  clamber- 
ing over  a  rail  fence  she  soon  saw  before  her  a  large 
barn-yard,  in  the  midst  of  which  stood  a  towering 
straw-stack,  glistening  in  the  sun.  Unlatching  the 
wide  gate,  she  entered  the  yard,  and  stood  upon  the 
clean  straw  which  had  been  spread  over  its  surface, 
gazing  upon  the  stack. 

This  little  mountain  of  wheat-stalks  had  probably 
stood  there  all  winter,  but  fresh  straw  from  the  barn 
had'recently  been  thrown  out  upon  it,  and  it  looked 
as  sweet  and  clean  and  bright  as  though  it  had  just 
been  piled  up  fresh  from  the  harvest-field. 

Then  spoke  up  the  happy  soul  of  the  girl,  and  said 
to  her:  "What  a  perfectly  lovely  straw-stack  for  a 
slide!"  It  had  been  years  since  Gay  had  slidden 
down  a  stack,  but  all  the  joys  of  those  rapturous 
descents  came  back  to  her  as  she  stood  and  gazed. 
Then  her  eyes  began  to  sparkle,  and  the  longings  of 
youth  held  out  their  arms,  and  drew  her  towards  the 
stack. 

She  looked  here,  and  she  looked  there,  she  looked 
towards  the  barn ;  all  the  windows  and  doors  were 
closed.  She  looked  towards  the  fields  and  the  house  j 
not  a  person  was  in  sight.  Not  a  living  creature  did 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  43 

she  see,  save  two  gray  pullets  scratching  in  a  corner 
of  the  yard.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  climb  the 
slippery  sides  of  a  straw-stack,  but  Gay  had  once 
been  proficient  in  the  art,  and  her  hands  and  feet  had 
not  lost  their  cunning.  There  was  some  difficult 
scrambling  and  some  retrogressions,  but  she  was  full 
of  vigor  and  strong  intent,  and  she  soon  stood  upon 
the  summit,  her  cheeks  and  lips  in  fullest  bloom,  and 
her  whole  body  beating  with  the  warm  pride  of  suc- 
cess. Her  hat  had  fallen  off  in  the  ascent,  but  she 
tossed  back  her  ruffled  hair,  and  thought  nothing 
of  this  mishap.  She  looked  up  to  the  blue  sky,  and 
out  upon  the  green  fields,  and  then  down  upon  the 
smooth  sides  of  the  stack,  which  sloped  beneath  her. 

Now  a  little  cloud  spread  itself  over  her  counte- 
nance. "  Grabriella  Armatt,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  is  it 
proper  for  you  to  slide  down  this  stack?  That  was  all 
very  well  when  you  were  a  girl,  but  think  of  it  now." 
Then  she  thought  for  a  moment,  and  the  cloud  passed 
away,  and  she  spoke  for  herself :  "  Yes,  I  am  really 
and  truly  a  girl  yet,"  she  said,  "  this  is  my  birthday 
and  only  the  morning  of  it;  I  shall  never  have  such 
a  chance  as  this  again,  and  I  oughtn't  to  take  it  if  it 
comes.  Yes,  I  will  have  one  slide  down  this  stack  ! 
And  that  will  be  the  very  end  of  my  existence  as  a 
girl ! " 

Mrs.  Justin  and  Mr.  Stratford  had  finished  their 
business  and  were  walking  across  the  lawn  towards 
the  barn.  Suddenly  Stratford  stopped  as  they  were 
passing  under  the  shade  of  a  wide-spreading  tree. 

"  Is  that  Miss  Armatt  on  the  top  of  that  straw- 
stack?"  he  asked. 


44  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mrs.  Justin  also  stopped.  "  Why,  surely,  it  is  !  " 
she  said.  "  And  how  in  the  world  did  she  get  up 
there?" 

"  Climbed  up,  I  suppose/7  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "  after 
the  fashion  of  boys  and  girls.  Doesn't  she  look  charm- 
ing standing  up  there  in  the  bright  sunlight?  n 

"  Her  pedestal  is  too  insecure,"  said  Mrs.  Justin. 
"If  she  steps  too  much  to  one  side  or  the  other  that 
straw  will  give  way  beneath  her,  and  she  will  have  a 
fall." 

Mrs.  Justin  was  just  about  to  call  out  in  a  voice  of 
warning,  but  she  suddenly  checked  herself.  At  that 
moment  Miss  Gay  sat  down  on  the  extreme  edge  of 
the  top  of  the  stack,  and  then,  as  a  gull  makes  its 
swift  downward  swoop  through  the  clear  morning  au- 
to the  glittering  ocean  crests,  so  Gay  slid  down  the 
long  side  of  that  straw-stack  from  girlhood  into 
womanhood. 

As  she  arrived  at  the  bottom,  a  mass  of  pink  and 
white,  and  tumbled  hair,  Mrs.  Justin  ejaculated, 
"  Well !  "  But  Horace  Stratford  said  nothing ;  and 
the  two  walked  on. 


CHAPTER  IV 


N  the  day  after  Gay  Armatt's  birth- 
day Mr.  Stratford  went  fishing  near 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  he 
brought  back  a  very  fair  string  of 
trout  5  but  on  the  following  day, 
which  was  Thursday,  he  drove  over 
to  Mrs.  Justin's  place,  and  found  the  two  ladies 
engaged  in  setting  up  a  target  on  the  lawn,  where 
they  were  going  to  practice  archery.  He  received  a 
warm  welcome,  for  Mrs.  Justin  knew  him  as  a  good 
bowman,  and  he  speedily  took  the  arrangement  of  the 
target  and  the  stringing  of  the  bows  into  his  own 
hands. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  found  that  the  course 
of  studies  at  Miss  Armatt's  college  had  not  included 
archery,  and  that,  although  she  had  a  good  eye  and 
a  strong  arm,  she  knew  but  little  of  the  use  of  the 
bow  and  arrow.  Mrs.  Justin  was  an  excellent  archer 
and  needed  no  assistance,  and  although  Stratford  took 
his  shots  when  his  turn  came,  he  gave  the  most  of  his 
time  to  the  tuition  of  Miss  Armatt.  He  informed  her 
—  and  in  a  manner  which  seemed  as  if  he  were  tell- 
ing her  something  she  had  once  known  and  now  for- 
gotten—  how  she  must  stand,  how  she  must  throw 
back  her  shoulders  and  advance  her  left  foot,  how  she 

45 


46  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

must  draw  the  feathered  end  of  the  arrow  back  to  her 
little  ear,  how  she  must  set  her  eye  upon  the  target 
and  her  mind  upon  the  arrow.  Once  he  found  it 
necessary  to  place  her  fingers  properly  around  the 
string.  But  whatever  he  did,  and  whatever  he  told 
her,  was  done  and  said  with  such  a  courteous,  almost 
deferential,  manner,  that  the  relation  of  teacher  to 
pupil  scarcely  suggested  itself.  It  seemed  rather  as 
if  Gay  and  Mr.  Stratford  were  partners  in  a  match 
against  Mrs.  Justin,  and  that  they  were  helping  each 
other. 

When  he  had  gone,  Gay  Armatt  expressed  a  high 
opinion  of  Mr.  Stratford.  He  seemed  to  know  so 
much,  and  was  so  kind,  and  gentle,  and  pleasant  in 
his  way  of  telling  people  how  to  do  things.  And  to 
this  remark  Mrs.  Justin  answered  that  she  knew  of 
no  one  who  was  more  of  a  gentleman  at  heart  than 
Horace  Stratford. 

Whereupon  Miss  Gay  had  an  idea,  down  at  the 
bottom  of  her  mind,  about  a  certain  relation  that  she 
thought  would  be  very  suitable  indeed,  and  which 
gave  her  pleasure  to  think  of.  But  nothing  would 
have  induced  her  to  mention  this  idea  to  Mrs.  Justin. 

Mr.  Stratford  came  no  more  to  the  Justin  mansion 
until  Sunday,  when  he  staid  to  dinner,  and  spent  the 
afternoon.  Mr.  Crisman  was  there,  and  he  and  Miss 
Armatt  were  very  glad  to  see  a  visitor,  for  it  was  a 
rainy  day,  and  there  could  be  no  strolling  through 
the  woods  j  but  with  some  one  to  talk  to  Mrs.  Justin  in 
the  library,  there  was  no  reason  why  the  two  younger 
people  should  not  wander  off  into  some  other  part  of 
the  house,  and  stay  away  as  long  as  they  pleased. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  47 

In  the  evening,  however,  they  were  all  together, 
and  Mr.  Stratford,  with  that  courtesy  which  was 
characteristic  of  him,  yielded  the  floor,  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  time,  to  the  younger  man.  Mrs. 
Justin  expressed  the  hope  that  Mr.  Crisman  might 
arrange  matters  so  that  he  could  arrive  earlier  in  the 
day  when  he  returned  on  the  following  Saturday.  In 
that  case,  they  could  make  up  a  croquet  party  of 
four  for  the  afternoon.  Croquet  was  a  game  of  which 
Mrs.  Justin  was  very  fond,  although  it  had  gone  out 
of  fashion;  but  Mr.  Crisman  put  his  hands  in  his 
pockets  and  smiled.  Then  he  stated,  with  an  air  of 
not  unkindly  superiority,  that  he  had  but  a  small 
opinion  of  croquet  and  archery ;  that  is,  considered 
as  recreative  occupations  for  adults. 

"  If  there  were  enough  people  here  and  in  the 
neighborhood  to  get  up  a  base-ball  match,"  he  said, 
"  that  would  be  something  worth  considering,  but  I 
rather  think  my  grass-billiard  days  are  over.  Then, 
there's  another  thing,"  said  Mr.  Crisman,  turning 
suddenly  towards  Mrs.  Justin  ;  "  I  sha'n't  be  able  to 
come  here  next  Saturday,  anyway,  for  some  of  my 
friends  and  myself  have  made  up  a  party  to  go  on 
a  cruise  on  the  Sound  in  a  yacht.  You  see  I  want  to 
get  a  little  sea  air  when  I  have  a  chance,  and  I  shall 
have  plenty  of  the  mountains  when  I  come  here  to 
spend  my  vacation." 

"  You  never  said  anything  to  me  of  not  coming 
next  Saturday,"  said  Gay  reproachfully. 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Crisman,  turning  to  her  with  a 
smile;  "I  didn't  want  to  plump  it  on  you  too 
soon." 


48  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mr.  Stratford  now  rose  to  go  home,  and  Mrs.  Justin 
went  out  on  the  piazza  with  him  to  see  if  there  was 
any  chance  of  a  clear  day  for  the  morrow,  thus  giving 
Mr.  Crisman  an  opportunity  to  soothe  the  injured 
feelings  of  Miss  Gay. 

The  next  day  Stratford  drove  over  to  the  railroad 
station,  and  brought  back  with  him  his  friend  Arthur 
Thorne,  whom  he  had  invited  to  the  Bullripple  farm 
for  a  week's  fishing.  Mr.  Thorne  was  a  very  earnest 
worker  at  fishing ;  and  indeed  he  always  worked 
earnestly,  whether  in  pursuit  of  pleasure  or  profit. 
On  the  day  after  his  arrival  he  walked  steadily  in  his 
wading-boots,  and  with  his  fishing  accouterments,  up 
the  middle  of  a  long  trout  stream.  The  water  was 
very  cold,  and  sometimes  quite  deep ;  but  when  Mr. 
Thorne  did  anything  he  did  it  in  the  right  way,  and 
he  knew  very  well  that  the  way  to  fish  a  trout  stream 
was  to  wade  up  the  middle  of  it  against  the  current. 
His  friend  Stratford  was  not  so  thorough  in  his 
methods,  and  frequently  did  a  great  part  of  his  day's 
fishing  while  standing  on  dry  land  j  but  for  all  that 
he  generally  caught  all  the  trout  that  he  and  the 
Bullripple  family  could  eat. 

When  towards  the  close  of  the  afternoon  the  two 
friends  returned  to  the  farm-house,  they  found  Mrs. 
People  in  a  state  of  wild  agitation.  Stratford  had 
scarcely  set  foot  upon  the  porch  when  she  took  him 
to  one  side,  and  communicated  to  him  the  cause  of 
her  mental  and  physical  commotion. 

"I  don't  know  how  to  begin  to  tell  you,  Mr.  Strat- 
ford," she  said,  "  but  me  an'  Enoch  has  got  to  go  to 
the  city  to-morrow  morn  in'  the  very  earliest  we  can, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  49 

which  is  by  the  milk  train,  which  leaves  the  station  at 
five  o'clock.  Enoch  got  a  telegraph  message  from 
John  just  as  we  was  settin'  down  to  dinner  to-day,  an7 
he  sent  for  both  of  us  to  come  to  him  just  as  soon  as 
ever  we  could,  which  we  would  have  done  this  after- 
noon, gettin'  there  after  dark,  to  be  sure,  but  we 
wouldn't  'a'  minded  that  in  times  like  this  if  it  hadn't 
been  for  you  and  the  other  gentleman,  who  couldn't 
be  left  with  nobody  but  Marier  to  cook  for  you  an' 
take  care  of  you,  who  isn't  no  more  able  even  to  set 
your  table,  let  alone  a-cookin'  a  beefsteak,  an'  makin7 
coffee  as  you  like  it,  than  she  is  to  go  into  the  pulpit 
an'  preach  j  an7  so,  of  course,  we  had  to  stay  until  we 
could  see  what  could  be  done  to  make  you  an'  your 
friend  comfortable  while  we  was  away,  which  won't 
be  more  than  three  or  four  days,  judgin7  from  John's 
message,  which  was  a  good  long  one,  though  I  thought 
that  ten  words  was  all  anybody  ever  sent.  An'  I'm 
sure  no  thin7  could  'a'  happened  worse  than  havin'  to 
go  away  at  this  time  just  in  the  very  week  that  you 
have  company." 

"But  what  is  the  matter,  Mrs.  People!"  said  Mr. 
Stratford.  "  You  haven't  told  me  that.  Has  anything 
happened  to  your  son  ? " 

"  Happened!"  she  exclaimed.  "  Why,  I  should  say 
something  had  happened!  Vatoldi's  has  been  boy- 
cotted.'7 

At  this  announcement  Mr.  Stratford  manifested  his 
surprise  by  laughing  outright.  "What  utter  ab- 
surdity ! 7'  he  exclaimed.  "  And  why  in  the  world 
should  you  and  your  brother  be  called  upon  in  an 
emergency  of  this  sort  ?  " 
5 


50  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

'"John  says/7  replied  Mrs.  People,  "that  he  must 
instantly  have  somebody  he  can  trust,  an'  we  are  the 
only  ones.  What  he  wants  with  us  I  don't  know. 
But  down  we  must  go,  an'  no  later  than  five  o'clock 
to-morrow  mornin7  either.  John  knows  very  well 
that  Enoch's  hired  man,  Jim  Neal,  can  do  everything 
that's  needed  on  the  farm  for  two  or  three  days,  any- 
way; and  I  suppose  he'd  forgot  about  Marier  not 
bein'  able  to  cook  for  anybody  but  farm  hands,  and 
they  wouldn't  stand  her  more  'n  a  week  at  the  out- 
side, an',  of  course,  he  didn't  know  your  friend  was 
here.  But  there's  no  use  talkin7  about  all  that. 
What's  to  be  done  now  is  for  you  two  gentlemen  to 
make  up  your  minds  what  you're  goin'  to  do  while 
we're  gone." 

"You  need  not  trouble  yourself  about  that,"  said 
Mr.  Stratford,  "if  there  is  an  urgent  occasion  for 
your  leaving  home  j  and  I  suppose  there  must  be, 
though  I  don't  understand  it.  Mr.  Thorne  and  I  will 
do  very  well  while  you  are  gone.  We  will  consider 
that  we  are  camping  out,  and  what  cooking  Maria 
cannot  do  I  can  do  myself.  I'm  a  very  good  hand 
at  that  sort  of  thing." 

"Not  a  bit  of  it !  Not  a  bit  of  it !  "  exclaimed  Mrs. 
People.  "I  couldn't  rest  easy  for  one  minute  on 
whatever  kind  of  a  bed  John  has  to  give  me,  an'  I'm 
sure  I  don't  know  what  it's  goin'  to  be,  if  I  thought 
of  you  here  doin'  your  own  cookin',  an'  with  Marier 
greasin'  your  way  out  of  this  world  with  her  lard  an' 
her  ham-fat.  No,  indeed ;  it  shall  never  be  said  of 
me  that  I  went  off  an'  left  you  in  any  such  a  mess  as 
that.  But  here  comes  Mrs.  Justin's  man,  Henderson, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  51 

on  horseback,  an'  by  the  looks  of  him  he's  bringin7  a 
letter." 

The  man  did  bring  a  letter,  and  it  was  for  Mr.  Strat- 
ford, and  in  it  Mrs.  Justin  gave  him  and  his  friend  a 
very  cordial  and  earnest  invitation  to  stay  at  her 
house  during  the  absence  of  Mrs.  People  and  Mr. 
Bullripple. 

"How  did  Mrs.  Justin  know  anything  about  this? " 
exclaimed  Stratford,  when  he  had  read  the  note. 

"  Why,  you  see,  the  way  of  it  was  this,"  answered 
Mrs.  People.  "As  soon  as  Enoch  an'  me  got  over 
the  worst  of  our  flurry,  which  was  mostly  mine,  I 
must  say,  I  began  to  think  about  you  an'  what  was 
to  become  of  you  while  we  was  gone.  Then  I  says  to 
myself :  l  Mrs.  Justin  ought  to  know  about  this,  not 
as  I'd  ask  anythin'  of  her,  for  I'm  just  as  independent 
as  the  next  person  ;  but  still,  if  she  wants  to  do  any- 
thin'  in  a  neighborly  way,  it  isn't  for  me,  who  ever 
sence  she  first  come  with  her  husband  to  live  here 
never  had  one  word  to  say  ag'in'  her,  to  put  myself 
an'  my  independence  in  the  way  of  her  doin'  it.'  So 
I  jus'  had  the  buggy  hitched  up,  an'  I  drove  over  to 
her  house  as  hard  as  I  could  go  j  an'  'twould  have 
done  you  good,  Mr.  Stratford,  to  see  how  that  mare 
did  trot  when  I  worked  her  up  to  such  a  state  of 
mind  that  she  forgot  to  shy  at  them  upturned  tree- 
roots  just  at  our  line  fence,  which  she's  done  reg'lar 
ever  sence  the  tree  was  bio  wed  down  in  September  of 
year  before  last.  An'  I  told  Mrs.  Justin  all  about  the 
thing  jus'  as  it  really  stood,  an'  she  said  I  needn't 
trouble  myself  about  you  an7  the  other  gentleman,  for 
she'd  invite  you  to  stay  till  I  got  back.  I  made  up 


52  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

iny  mind  I  wouldn't  say  nothin'  about  this  till  she 
sent  over  an'  asked  you,  for  it  wasn't  any  of  my  busi- 
ness to  interfere  with  her  concerns,  nor  her  way  of 
attendin'  to  'em  ;  but  I  must  say  I  felt  a  mighty  relief 
when  I  saw  that  man  Henderson  comin'  with  a  letter, 
which,  of  course,  I  knew  he  had  an'  what  it  was.  An' 
now  I'll  be  off  and  see  about  supper,  or  else  Marier'H 
give  you  a  taste  of  what  you  might  have  expected  if 
you'd  been  left  here  with  her  to  take  care  of  you." 

Stratford  reflected  some  little  time  before  answer- 
ing Mrs.  Justin's  note,  but  then,  after  consulting  with 
Thorne,  and  considering  that  the  invitation  was  a 
very  honest  and  kindly  intentioned  one,  which  should 
not  be  declined  without  good  reason,  he  determined 
to  accept  it. 

In  the  early  gray  of  the  next  morning  Enoch  and 
Mrs.  People  took  the  milk  train  for  the  city,  and 
Stratford  and  Mr.  Thorne  drove  over  to  Mrs.  Justin's 
House  in  time  for  breakfast. 


CHAPTER  V 


HERE  was  indeed  trouble  at  Vatol- 
di's,  and  John  People  found  himself 
in  a  perplexed  and  soul-harrowed 
condition.  The  establishment  over 
which  he  presided  was  such  a  well- 
ordered  one  that  everybody  seemed 
to  be  surprised  at  the  sudden  changes  which  had 
taken  place  in  this  favorite  resort.  The  employees 
had  always  been  well  treated  and  well  paid,  and  had 
never  shown  any  dissatisfaction  with  the  rules  of  the 
establishment.  But  recently  they  had  broken  out  in 
open  rebellion  against  a  fundamental  regulation. 

It  was  a  cherished  belief  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Stull 
that  a  waiter  should  look  like  a  waiter,  and  that  his 
working-clothes  should  not  be  the  same  as  those  worn 
by  gentlemen  on  ceremonious  occasions.  None  of  the 
waiters  at  Vatoldi's  had  ever  made  the  slightest  ob- 
jection to  their  neat  and  appropriate  costume.  But 
a  man  had  recently  been  engaged,  George  Bencher  by 
name,  whose  soul  soared  above  the  restrictions  im- 
posed by  narrow-minded  authority.  He  made  it 
plain  to  the  other  men  that  in  all  first-class  restau- 
rants the  waiters  wore  dress-coats  in  the  evening,  and 
for  him  and  his  fellows  to  be  attired  in  jackets  and 
aprons  at  all  hours  was  a  visible  proof  that  they 

63 


54=  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

worked  in  an  establishment  of  a  low  order,  or  else 
did  not  possess  the  manhood  with  which  to  assert 
their  rights.  A  united  demand  was  therefore  made 
on  John  People  that  the  waiters  should  thereafter  be 
allowed  to  wear  dress-suits  in  the  evening,  instead  of 
jackets  and  aprons. 

John  People,  of  course,  was  not  empowered  to  make 
a  decision  in  an  important  case  like  this,  nor  could  he 
say  that  he  would  refer  the  matter  to  Ids  superiors, 
for,  in  the  ordinary  management  of  the  business,  he 
was  not  supposed  to  have  any.  Everybody  connected 
with  the  place  knew  that  the  original  Vatoldi  must 
now  be  dead,  and  that,  if  John  had  not  bought  out 
the  place,  he  was  conducting  it  for  the  heirs.  Mr. 
Stull  had  always  insisted  that,  while  John  must  refer 
to  him  in  matters  of  any  importance  whatever,  he 
must,  at  the  same  time,  take  care  that  no  one  should 
imagine  that  he  was  obliged  to  refer  to  anybody. 
Mr.  Stull  was  most  anxious  that  no  curiosity  should 
be  aroused,  and  no  impertinent  investigations  set  on 
foot,  in  regard  to  the  ownership  of  Vatoldi's. 

Consequently,  John  was  obliged  to  tell  the  men  that 
he  must  take  a  little  time  to  think  over  the  matter, 
and  when  he  went  to  the  bank  that  afternoon  to  make 
his  daily  deposit  and  confer  with  Mr.  Stull,  he  laid 
the  affair  before  that  gentleman.  Mr.  Stull  was  very 
indignant,  and  ordered  John  to  tell  the  waiters  that 
on  no  account  would  their  absurd  and  impudent  de- 
mand be  complied  with ;  so  long  as  they  served  at 
Vatoldi's  they  should  never  wear  dress-coats ;  and 
that,  if  they  desired  to  adopt  that  style  of  dress,  they 
must  go  somewhere  else  and  do  it.  John  gave  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  55 

waiters  his  decision  that  evening,  arid  when  it  was 
received  every  man  took  off  his  jacket  and  apron,  put 
on  his  ordinary  coat  and  his  hat,  and  departed,  and 
the  establishment  closed  an  hour  or  two  earlier  than 
usual. 

But  John  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  before 
the  busy  hours  began  next  day  he  had  secured,  from 
the  lists  of  applicants  in  his  possession,  enough 
waiters  with  whom  to  carry  on  the  service.  Now  the 
war  began,  the  offensive  operations  of  which  were 
directed  by  the  energetic  Bencher.  Many  of  the 
newly  employed  waiters  were  frightened  away,  and 
threats  of  loss  of  reputation  and  ill-usage  weakened 
the  forces  in  the  kitchen.  More  than  this,  Bencher 
determined  to  produce  an  impression  upon  the  patrons 
of  Vatoldi's,  and,  if  possible,  bring  about  a  boycott  of 
the  place.  The  discontented  waiters  were  called  upon 
to  contribute  to  a  fund,  and  the  money  was  employed 
in  efforts  to  make  the  public  believe  that  they  should 
not  patronize  Vatoldi's.  Men  were  hired  to  parade 
the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  place,  bearing  banners  on 
which  were  painted  warning  inscriptions.  "Eat  not 
at  the  house  of  the  oppressor ! "  sounding  like  a  text 
of  Scripture,  was  expected  to  have  much  effect.  An- 
other inscription,  based  upon  the  belief  in  Vatoldi's 
decease,  read  thus : 

"The  Ghost's  Eestaurant 
Kept  By  A  Dead  Man. 
Cooking  Done  In  The  Vault." 

These  banner-bearers,  however,  with  the  crowds 
they  attracted  in  the  busy  thoroughfare,  were  soon 


56  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

driven  away  by  the  police ;  but  the  generous  distri- 
bution of  hundreds  of  copies  of  a  circular  which  Ben- 
cher had  composed  and  had  had  printed  was  found  to 
be  of  great  service  to  the  cause  of  the  boycotters. 
This  informed  the  public  that  if  they  patronized  Va- 
toldi's  they  might  expect  that  the  conscienceless  man- 
agement would  be  just  as  ready  to  impose  bad  eggs 
and  tallow  butter  upon  its  patrons  as  it  was  to  lay  its 
vile  yokes  upon  the  necks  of  its  employees;  with 
much  more  matter  of  a  like  character. 

As  the  authorship  of  these  circulars  could  be  re- 
ferred to  nobody  in  particular,  and  as  they  might  be 
scattered  by  any  one  as  he  passed  the  place,  it  was 
difficult  to  prevent  their  distribution.  People  would 
stop  to  look  into  Vatoldi's  to  see  what  was  going  on, 
and  other  people  stopped  to  see  what  these  were  look- 
ing at.  Under  these  circumstances  very  few  ladies 
came  to  Vatoldi's ;  and  although  a  good  many  men 
persisted  in  taking  their  meals  there  in  spite  of  the 
inferior  service,  the  ordinary  luncher  or  diner  pre- 
ferred to  go  to  some  restaurant  not  so  prominent  in 
public  notice,  and  the  patronage  of  the  place  fell  off 
greatly. 

The  heart  of  Mr.  Stull  was  filled  with  indignation 
and  energetic  resolve.  If  he  could  have  appeared  in 
his  proper  person  as  proprietor  and  manager  of  the 
boycotted  establishment,  he  would  have  conducted 
affairs  with  such  courage  and  wisdom  as  would  have 
entitled  him  to  the  approbation  of  all  good  citizens. 
But  it  was  simply  impossible  for  him  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  avow  himself  the  owner  of  Vatoldi's.  His 
pride  in  the  high  position  which  he  held  in  social  and 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  57 

financial  circles  would  never  allow  him  to  admit,  even 
in  such  a  crisis  as  this,  that  his  fortune  in  any  way 
depended  upon  his  ability  as  a  restaurant-keeper. 
Social  standing  was  dearer  to  him  even  than  money, 
and  he  would  much  have  preferred  to  see  Vatoldi's 
deserted  by  its  patrons  for  a  month,  or  even  a  year, 
than  to  see  himself  and  his  family  deserted  by 
"  Society." 

But  he  did  not  intend  that  Vatoldi's  should  be  de- 
serted. He  could  do  nothing  openly ;  but  indirectly 
as  a  patron  of  the  place,  and  as  an  earnest  defender 
of  the  right  of  man  to  carry  on  a  legitimate  business 
in  his  own  way,  he  did  a  great  deal.  He  took  all  his 
meals  at  the  place,  and  induced  many  of  his  friends 
to  go  there.  He  urged  them  to  do  this  for  the  "  prin- 
ciple of  the  thing,"  although  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  he  should  be  very  sorry  to  see  this  establish- 
ment, the  best  of  its  kind  in  the  city,  come  to  grief. 
He  took  his  wife  and  three  daughters  to  VatoldPs  for 
luncheon  and  also  for  dinner,  and  both  his  carriage 
and  his  coupe  were  kept  standing  as  long  as  pos- 
sible before  the  door. 

When  John  People  came  to  him  at  the  usual  hour, 
Mr.  Stull  fairly  loaded  him  with  injunctions  and 
directions.  If  anything  very  important  occurred, 
John  was  to  telegraph  to  him  at"  bank  or  residence,  in 
a  simple  cipher,  of  which  Mr.  Stull  prepared  two 
copies ;  and  the  faithful  manager  was  ordered,  when- 
ever his  employer  went  up  to  the  desk  to  pay  his  bill, 
to  give  him  with  his  change  a  brief  report  of  the 
state  of  affairs  up  to  that  time.  It  was  at  this  con- 
ference that  it  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Bullripple  and 


58  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mrs.  People  should  be  sent  for.  It  was  quite  obvious 
that  in  this  emergency  John  must  have  some  assist- 
ants in  whom  he  could  trust;  and  although  his 
mother  and  his  uncle  knew  nothing  of  restaurant- 
keeping,  they  were  persons  of  varied  abilities  and 
much  energy,  and  he  felt  that  he  knew  no  one  else  in 
whom  he  could  place  a  like  confidence.  Mr.  Stull  was 
acquainted  with  the  old  farmer  and  his  sister,  and 
while  they  were  not  the  people  whom  he  would  have 
decided  to  call  upon,  had  he  had  a  choice,  he  knew 
that  they  were  honest  and  devoted  to  John ;  and  these 
points  decided  him  to  authorize  John  to  call  upon 
them. 

Mr.  Bullripple  and  Mrs.  People  arrived  at  Vatoldi's 
about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  second  day  of  the  boy- 
cott —  an  hour  of  the  morning  at  which,  even  on 
ordinary  occasions,  there  were  comparatively  few 
customers  in  the  place.  John  expected  them  by  this 
train,  and  knowing  that  the  meeting  with  his  parent 
would  not  be  an  exhibition  suitable  for  the  public  eye, 
he  had  retired  at  the  proper  moment  to  a  small  back 
room  used  as  a  storage  pantry ;  and  it  was  there  that 
his  mother  enfolded  him  in  her  arms,  and  assured 
him  with  streaming  eyes  that  she  would  stand  by 
him  to  the  last  bone  in  her  body. 

When  the  emotions  of  Mrs.  People  had  been  some- 
what quieted,  and  Enoch  Bullripple  had  taken  his 
nephew  by  the  hand  and  had  inquired  what  was  the 
trouble,  and  what  John  wanted  him  to  do,  they  all  sat 
down  at  a  table  in  the  corner  of  the  large  room,  and 
everything  was  explained.  Mrs.  People  was  very 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  59 

anxious  to  know  what  Mr.  Vatoldi  thought  about  it 
all,  but  John  evaded  her  questions. 

"  Everything  is  left  to  me',"  he  said.  "  The  pro- 
prietor is  away  and  cannot  come  here,  and  I  must 
manage  the  whole  affair  myself;  and  I  think  I  can 
get  through  all  right  if  you  two  will  stay  here  for  a 
few  days  until  things  come  straight  again." 

"  We'll  stay,  John,"  said  his  mother,  "  just  as  long 
as  you  need  us.  You  may  depend  on  that." 

"That's  so,"  added  the  old  man.  "We'll  stick  to 
you  till  the  place  is  either  shut  up  or  running  along 
as  it  used  to.  Now,  do  you  want  me  to  carve  or  wash 
dishes?" 

It  did  not  take  long  for  John  to  explain  what  he 
wanted  his  new  assistants  to  do.  His  mother  was  to 
go  into  the  kitchen.  The  head  cook  had  been  induced 
to  follow  the  waiters,  and  although  the  assistants 
who  remained  were  moderately  skilled  in  their,  duties, 
they  could  not  be  trusted  to  work  without  supervis- 
ion. Mr.  Bullripple  was  to  keep  a  general  eye  upon 
the  dining-room,  and  when  John  was  out  was  to  pre- 
side at  the  cashier's  desk.  He  was  not  quick  at  mak- 
ing change,  but  he  could  do  so  with  great  accuracy, 
having  a  very  sharp  eye  for  a  penny. 

Enoch  Bullripple  had  not  always  been  a  farmer. 
Although  country-bred,  he  had  at  one  time  kept  a 
small  grocery  store  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city, 
and  after  that  he  had  made  a  voyage  to  the  West 
Indies,  during  which  his  speculations  in  early  cabbages 
and  potatoes  had  proved  very  profitable  to  him.  The 
head,  arms,  and  legs  of  Mr.  Bullripple  were  very  hard, 


60  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

and  his  movements  and  his  wits  were  quick.  He  was 
not  ignorant  of  the  ways  of  the  town,  and  was  one 
of  those  countrymen  against  whom  town  dealers  are 
much  more  likely  to  endeavor  to  defend  themselves 
than  to  try  to  impose  upon  them.  He  entered  with 
much  interest  into  the  new  line  of  business  now  open 
to  him  at  Vatoldi's.  He  was  very  willing  to  give  his 
nephew  all  the  assistance  in  his  power,  but  he  also 
had  a  strong  desire  to  make  use  of  the  opportunities 
that  might  now  be  afforded  him  to  find  out  what  was 
that"  nephew's  true  position  in  the  establishment.  If 
Vatoldi  were  dead,  as  he  had  reason  to  believe,  could 
it  be  possible  that  John  was  now  the  real  proprietor  ? 
In  that  case,  what  became  of  the  very  large  profits 
which  must  accrue  from  the  business  ?  But  if  John 
were  merely  acting  as  the  agent  of  some  one  else,  who 
was  that  some  one  else?  This  was  the  question  to 
which  Enoch  gave  his  attention,  for  he  did  not  believe 
that  John  was  actually  at  the  head  of  affairs.  He 
was  quite  sure  that  there  was  a  proprietor  and  gen- 
eral director  in  the  background,  and  he  was  quite  as 
sure  that  this  person  desired  to  remain  very  much  in 
the  background.  It  was  not  merely  curiosity  which 
prompted  Enoch  to  discover  the  unknown  owner 
and  his  motives  for  secrecy.  He  believed  that  his 
nephew  was  carrying  a  very  heavy  load  with  but 
very  little  profit  to  himself,  and  that  if  he,  Enoch, 
could  get  one  of  his  strong  thumbs  into  the  Vatoldi 
pie,  he  would  be  able  to  pull  out  a  plum  for  John. 

Mr.  Bullripple  walked  up  and  down  between  the 
rows  of  tables  in  the  long  room,  sometimes  taking  his 
seat  on  an  empty  chair,  of  which,  on  this  day,  there 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  61 

were  a  good  many.  He  kept  his  eyes  on  the  new 
waiters  who  had  been  employed,  looking  sharply  for 
signs  of  disaffection  and  intimidation.  Now  and 
then  he  stepped  to  the  door  to  see  if  he  could  discover 
any  of  those  banners  of  which  he  had  been  told,  and 
several  times  he  made  a  sudden  swoop  out  upon  the 
sidewalk,  and  in  the  direction  of  a  boy  who  was  dis- 
tributing circulars  of  the  boycotters.  He  never 
caught  the  boy,  but  he  picked  up  a  great  many  circu- 
lars, and  carried  them  in  to  be  burned. 

A  little  before  three  o'clock  John  asked  his  uncle 
to  take  his  place  at  the  cashier's  desk, —  a  good  deal 
of  a  sinecure  just  then, —  as  he  was  obliged  to  go  to 
the  bank  and  make  his  deposits. 

"  Can't  I  go  for  you  ?  "  asked  his  uncle. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  John ;  "  I  always  do  that  myself." 

The  rest  of  the  afternoon  and  evening  passed  disa- 
greeably at  Vatoldi's.  As  night  drew  on,  a  crowd  of 
idlers,  apparently  sent  there  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing the  ordinary  public  believe  that  something  was 
going  to  happen,  stood,  dispersed,  and  reassembled 
upon  the  sidewalk.  Sometimes  rough  fellows  would 
come  in  and  demand  something  to  drink,  without 
anything  to  eat,  and  when  told  that  refreshments 
were  not  served  here  in  that  fashion,  would  complain 
violently,  and  would  go  away  with  loud  words  of 
derision  and  contempt.  Nearly  every  one  who  passed 
the  place  seemed  to  carry  in  his  hand  one  of  Bencher's 
circulars;  and  when,  in  the  course  of  the  evening, 
Mr.  Stull  and  his  friends,  with  other  gentlemen  who 
had  determined  to  patronize  on  principle  this  perse- 
cuted restaurant,  came  in,  nearly  all  of  them  ordered 
6 


62  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

something  or  other  which  John  had  thought  would 
not  be  called  for  in  these  troublous  times,  and  which, 
therefore,  was  not  on  hand.  If  Mr.  Stull  said  any- 
thing to  John  when  he  went  up  to  the  cashier's  desk, 
it  must  have  been  spoken  very  quickly,  and  in  an 
undertone,  for  no  one  noticed  it.  But,  as  he  walked 
away,  Mr.  Stull's  face  was  very  red,  while  John's 
seemed  troubled.  At  the  close  of  the  day  several  of 
the  newly  engaged  waiters  informed  Mr.  People  that 
they  would  like  to  have  their  money  for  their  day's 
work,  and  that  they  should  not  return.  They  had 
not  understood  the  state  of  affairs  when  they  agreed 
to  come  there,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  mix  them- 
selves up  in  any  such  trouble.  Of  course  no  one  of 
them  said  anything  about  the  private  note  he  had 
received  that  day  from  Bencher. 

John  had  secured  rooms  for  his  mother  and  uncle 
in  the  boarding-house  where  he  lived ;  and  after  the 
young  man  had  taken  his  weary  body  and  soul  to  bed, 
the  two  elders  had  a  little  confabulation  in  the  parlor. 

"If  this  thing  goes  on  much  longer,"  said  Mrs. 
People,  "  it  will  bring  that  boy  to  his  dying  bed.  He's 
pretty  nigh  worn  out  now." 

"  That's  so,"  replied  Enoch ;  "  John  is  mighty  stout 
on  his  pins,  but  he  looks  shaky  for  all  that." 

"  Pins  are  no  good/7  said  his  sister,  "  no  matter  how 
fat  they  may  be,  when  the  mind  is  so  troubled  and 
tossed  it  can't  sleep.  An'  just  look  at  that  Vatoldi ! " 

"I  wish  I  could,"  said  Enoch,  "but  I  don't  ex- 
pect to." 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  People ;  "  it's  easy  enough 
to  see  that  he's  goin'  to  keep  himself  out  of  harm's 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  63 

way,  an'  trouble's  way  too,  an7  leave  my  boy  to  bear 
everything.  I  tell  you  what  let's  do,  Enoch.  Let's 
shut  the  place  up,  an7  take  John  away.  Then,  if 
Vatoldi  wants  to  open  it  again,  let  him  come  an' 
open  it." 

"  That  wouldn't  do,  Hannah ;  that  wouldn't  do," 
said  Enoch.  "  If  the  reg'lar  customers,  like  Mr.  Stull 
and  all  them  carriage  people,  was  to  find  the  place 
shut  up,  they'd  go  somewhere  else,  and  not  come 
back  again.  It  won't  do  to  spile  a  good  business  that 
way." 

"  It's  a  long  time  sence  John  has  had  a  holiday," 
said  Mrs.  People,  after  a  little  pause,  "  an'  he's  always 
told  me  he  couldn't  have  one,  because  there  was  no- 
body to  take  his  place  while  he  was  gone.  Now  it 
strikes  me  that  this  is  just  the  time  for  John  to  get 
his  holiday.  Here's  you  an'  me  on  hand  to  be  in  his 
place  j  an'  as  long  as  the  restaurant's  boycotted  there 
won't  be  much  to  do,  an'  what  little  business  there  is, 
you  an'  me  can  attend  to  well  enough  without  John." 

"  That's  a  good  idea,  Hannah,"  said  Enoch,  "  a  very 
good  idea.  As  long  as  the  business  is  upset,  and 
hind-part  foremost,  and  standing  on  its  head,  I  can 
do  what  marketing  is  needed,  and  boss  the  waiters. 
But  if  everything  was  a-runnin'  on  as  smooth  and 
even  as  the  fly-wheel  of  a  steam-engine,  with  hun- 
dreds of  people  comin'  in,  and  eatin'  and  drinkin',  and 
never  seein'  nothin'  to  find  fault  with,  then  you  and 
me  would  get  the  whole  machinery  out  of  order, 
because  we  don't  understand  it,  and  John,  or  some- 
body like  him,  would  have  to  be  on  hand.  But  now 
we  can  go  into  this  rough-and-tumble  business  as 


64  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

well  as  anybody,  and  keep  things  as  straight  as  they 
can  be  kept  till  that  lot  of  stupid  waiters  see  which 
side  their  bread  is  buttered,  and  come  back.  Then 
John  can  take  hold  again,  and  everything  go  on  as  it 
used  to.  You're  right,  Hannah.  This  is  the  time  for 
John's  holiday,  if  he's  ever  goin'  to  get  one." 

"  But  he's  got  to  get  it ! "  said  Mrs.  People,  her 
emotion  lifting  her  to  her  feet.  "  I  know  he'll  say  he 
can't  an'  he  won't.  But  that's  not  goin'  to  make  any 
difference  with  me.  I'm  determined  he  shall  have  a 
rest.  Why,  when  he  went  off  to  bed  jus'  now  he  was 
about  able  to  get  upstairs,  an'  no  more.'7 

Enoch  Bullripple  had  much  more  faith  in  the  endur- 
ing powers  of  John  than  had  been  expressed  by  Mrs. 
People,  but  for  more  reasons  than  one  he  greatly 
desired  that  the  young  man  should  have  a  holiday. 
If  he,  Enoch,  should  be  left  in  charge  of  Vatoldi's  for 
a  few  days,  he  felt  sure  that  he  could  get  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  mystery  of  the  proprietorship. 

"  But,  Hannah,"  said  he,  "  I  really  don't  see  how 
it's  goin'  to  be  done." 

"  I  don't  neither,"  said  Mrs.  People,  "  but  it's  got  to 
be  done,  an'  that's  the  long  an'  the  short  of  it." 


CHAPTER  VI 

HE  two  gentlemen,  whose  residence 
at  the  Bullripple  farm  had  been  in- 
terrupted by  the  boycott  at  Vatoldi's, 
found  the  life  at  Mrs.  Justin's  house 
a  very  pleasant  one.  Mr.  Thorne, 
having  come  into  the  mountains  to 
fish,  fished ;  and  his  friend  Stratford  usually  went 
with  him  on  his  excursions.  In  the  evening  this  fam- 
ily of  four  adapted  itself  very  well  to  cards,  conversa- 
tion, or  twilight  strolls,  and  the  ladies  found  fault 
with  Mr.  Thorne  because  he  worked  so  hard  at  his 
fishing,  and  gave  none  of  his  daytime  to  pursuits  in 
which  they  could  take  part.  But  he  was  a  thoroughly 
conscientious  young  man,  and  as  he  came  to  the 
mountains  to  fish,  he  fished. 

As  his  friend  now  began  to  know  the  country,  Mr. 
Stratford  frequently  left  him  to  wade  the  cold  trout 
streams  alone,  while  he  gave  some  of  his  time  to  the 
entertainment  of  the  ladies.  One  afternoon  he  took 
them,  with  the  Justin  horses  and  carriage,  on  a  long 
drive  through  some  of  the  valley  roads.  On  the  next 
day  he  did  not  go  out  with  Mr.  Thorne  at  all,  as  Mrs. 
Justin  desired  his  opinion  on  a  business  letter  she  had 
received  from  some  of  her  fellow- workers  ;  and  in  the 
afternoon,  Mrs.  Justin  having  retired  to  the  library 

65 


66  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  compose  her  answer,  Stratford  proposed  to  Miss 
Armatt  that  she  should  go  in  a  boat  on  Cherry  Creek, 
and  investigate  the  beauty  of  that  winding  stream. 

"  Why,  I  thought  the  Cherry  River,  as  I  shall  call 
it,  was  not  navigable/'  said  Miss  Gay.  "  When  Mr. 
Crisman  and  I  wanted  to  go  rowing,  Mrs.  Justin  told 
us  that  it  was  so  full  of  sand-bars  and  snags  and  all 
sorts  of  obstructions,  that  boating  on  it  was  not  to  be 
thought  of.'' 

"  She  was  entirely  right,"  pursued  Stratford ;  "  that 
is,  when  speaking  of  persons  not  familiar  with  the 
peculiarities  of  the  stream.  It  would  be  extremely 
awkward  and  perhaps  dangerous  for  you  and  Mr. 
Crisman  to  essay  boating  here.  But  in  this  case  it  is 
different.  I  have  lived  here  a  great  deal,  and  have 
made  myself  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  eccentrici- 
ties of  the  river,  or  creek.  Suppose  you  come  and 
let  us  see  what  progress  we  can  make." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  be  delighted/7  said  Gay.  And,  tossing 
on  her  hat,  she  walked  with  Stratford  to  the  waterside. 

In  rowing  of  the  sort  that  was  required  here  Strat- 
ford was  an  adept.  With  Miss  Gay  in  the  stern  of 
the  boat,  and  himself  placed  moderately  well  forward, 
so  that  the  flat-bottomed  craft  should  draw  as  little 
water  as  possible,  he  rowed  rapidly  over  the  deeper 
and  open  places,  pulled  close  to  one  bank  to  avoid  the 
shallows  by  the  other,  crushed  steadily  through  beds 
of  lily-pads,  and  once  slowly  and  gently  pushed  the 
boat  beneath  the  trunk  of  a  tree  which  spanned  the 
stream,  keeping  his  eyes  meantime  on  Gay  to  see  that 
her  head  and  shoulders  were  bent  low  enough  to  pre- 
vent contact  with  the  rough  overhanging  bark. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  67 

As  they  went  on,  the  stream  became  wider  and 
deeper,  and  they  met  with  fewer  impediments  j  and 
it  was  not  long  before,  to  Miss  Armatt's  great  delight, 
Stratford  turned  the  boat  into  a  narrow  tributary 
stream,  which,  running  through  the  heart  of  the 
woods,  presented  to  the  eye  a  lovely  water-avenue, 
passing  under  overhanging  arches  of  green  leaves, 
mossy  branches,  and  down-reaching  vines.  This  little 
stream,  though  narrow,  was  deeper  and  much  more 
open  to  the  approaches  of  a  little  boat  than  the  upper 
part  of  Cherry  Creek,  and  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
Stratford  rowed  quite  steadily,  keeping  his  head 
the  meanwhile  turned  well  to  one  side  so  that  he 
should  not  run  into  either  of  the  banks. 

Then  he  stopped,  and,  drawing  in  the  oars,  said  : 
"  Now  Fll  rest  for  a  time  and  look  about  me." 

"You'll  see  nothing,"  exclaimed  Miss  Gay  with 
sparkling  eyes,  "  that  is  not  perfectly  lovely." 

Stratford  looked  about  him  and  perceived  that  she 
was  quite  correct.  Here  and  there  was  a  break  in  the 
green  roof  above  them,  and  the  sunlight  falling  in 
little  dapples  on  leaf  and  water  enhanced  the  beauty 
of  the  shaded  vernal  hues  with  which  the  scene  was 
mainly  tinged.  On  one  bank  a  matted  grape-vine 
bent  down  so  low  and  wide  that  it  formed  a  spread- 
ing bower  over  the  water,  under  which  a  little  boat 
might  gently  lie.  On  either  side  there  were  glimpses 
of  foresfc  beauty;  beyond  them,  the  little  stream 
twinkled  and  rippled  into  the  far-away  heart  of  the 
woods,  and  the  perfume  from  the  young  blossoms  of 
the  grape-vines  filled  all  the  air. 

Miss  Gay  sat  silent,  her  eyes  wandering  from  side 


68  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  side,  and  resting  at  last  upon  the  water-bower 
formed  by  the  spreading  vines.  Then  she  said  :  "  I 
think  I  must  try  and  remember  all  the  twists  and 
turns  we  made  in  coming  here,  so  that  sometime  I 
can  guide  Mr.  Crisman  to  this  spot.  I  don't  believe 
he  was  ever  in  such  a  charming  place." 

Stratford  looked  into  the  face  of  Miss  Gay,  and 
across  the  clear  blue  sky  of  her  delight  he  saw  float- 
ing a  thin  gray  cloud.  He  knew  that  she  was  think- 
ing what  a  little  heaven  this  would  be  if  it  were  Tier 
lover  who  was  with  her.  But  Stratford  had  not 
brought  Miss  Armatt  here  that  she  might  tell  herself 
how  delightful  it  would  be  to  sit  in  a  boat  with  Mr. 
Crisman  under  that  roof  of  odorous  vines.  He 
wanted  to  talk  to  her  of  herself,  and  this  he  now  set 
about  to  do. 

He  answered  her  remark  by  saying  that  she  would 
have  to  come  over  this  course  a  good  many  times 
before  she  would  be  able  to  act  as  guide  for  any  one 
else.  He  made  no  offer  to  be  her  instructor  in  navi- 
gation, but  began  to  question  her  on  the  subject  of 
her  past  studies  and  those  victories  in  the  field  of 
learning  which  she  still  hoped  to  achieve.  He  made 
her  understand  how  greatly  interested  he  was  in  the 
objects  of  Mrs.  Justin's  life-work ;  and  having  heard 
from  that  lady  so  much  of  Miss  Armatt,  he  wished  to 
talk  to  her  about  what  she  had  done  and  what  she 
intended  to  do. 

Miss  Gay  was  very  willing  to  talk  of  these  matters. 
She  had  learned  from  Mrs.  Justin  that  Mr.  Stratford 
was  a  man  whose  experience  and  knowledge  were 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  69 

very  great,  and  whose  opinions  were  of  the  highest 
value,  and  she  much  desired  to  have  his  advice  about 
her  future  studies. 

But  very  little  advice  she  received  on  this  occasion. 
Mr.  Stratford  wished  to  look  into  her  mind,  and  not  to 
exhibit  his  own.  Miss  Gay  found  it  very  easy  to  talk 
to  her  companion.  He  seemed  to  want  to  know  exactly 
those  things  which  she  most  wished  to  tell  him.  In 
ten  minutes  she  was  speaking  more  freely  of  her 
aspirations  and  half -matured  plans  than  she  had  ever 
spoken  to  any  one  before.  Mrs.  Justin  was  her  dear, 
kind  friend,  and  always  willing  to  listen  and  assist. 
But  Gay  had  perceived  that  there  was  not  a  perfect 
sympathy  between  them  when  they  talked  of  her 
future  intentions.  Mrs.  Justin  wished  her  young 
friend  to  climb,  and  climb  boldly,  but  the  spot  at 
which  she  would  have  been  willing  to  rest  content 
was  far  below  the  altitude  on  which  Gay  Armatt  had 
fixed  her  eyes  and  her  hopes.  But  there  was  one  who 
not  only  sympathized  with  her  in  her  longings,  but, 
by  his  questions  and  his  hearty  interest,  led  her  on  to 
bring  forth  ideas  and  plans  which  had  long  been  laid 
away  in  her  mind  because  there  was  no  one  to  whom 
she  could  show  them.  She  expected  to  talk  about  all 
these  things  to  Mr.  Crisman  after  they  were  married ; 
but  just  now  their  conversation  never  ran  upon  intel- 
lectual or  educational  topics.  There  were  always 
things  of  a  totally  different  sort  which  he  wished  to 
say  to  her. 

But  now,  side  by  side  with  this  courteous  gentle- 
man, this  scholar  and  careful  thinker,  she  walked  in 


70  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

the  regions  of  high  thought  and  far-spread  prospects  j 
and  when  the  sun  had  sunk  so  low  that  it  no  longer 
threw  its  light  upon  the  leaves  and  water,  and  Strat- 
ford took  up  the  oars  and  said  it  was  time  for  them 
to  return,  he  looked  into  her  face,  and  on  the  sky 
of  her  delight  there  was  no  cloud. 

Gay  told  Mrs.  Justin  all  about  this  most  delightful 
little  excursion,  and  hesitated  not  at  the  same  time  to 
give  vent  to  her  high  admiration  of  Mr.  Stratford. 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  that  Mr.  Crisman 
could  not  have  rowed  you  into  this  woodland  stream." 

"It  would  have  been  perfectly  lovely,"  exclaimed 
Miss  Gay,  "if  he  could  have  been  with  me!  But 
then,"  she  added,  "  I  should  have  lost  that  most  en- 
couraging conversation  with  Mr.  Stratford." 

The  next  afternoon  Mr.  Thorne  was  prevailed  upon 
to  stay  at  home  and  take  part  in  Mrs.  Justin's  favor- 
ite outdoor  amusement,  a  game  of  croquet.  Thorne 
was  a  kind-hearted  man,  and  as  willing  as  anybody 
to  aid  in  the  work  of  making  other  people  happy, 
provided  such  labor  did  not  interfere  with  the  things 
which  he  really  ought  to  do.  But  now  he  felt  that 
he  had  done  his  duty  in  the  trout  streams,  and  that, 
having  come  into  the  mountains  to  fish,  he  had  fished. 
Therefore,  a  four-handed  game  of  croquet  was  made  up. 

"Gay  and  Mr.  Thorne  will  play  together,"  said 
Mrs.  Justin,  "  leaving  you  and  me  for  the  other  side." 

Stratford  smiled.  "  That  will  be  a  most  agreeable 
arrangement  for  me,"  he  said,  "  but  I  am  rather  sorry 
for  Miss  Armatt  and  Thorne." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Mrs.  Justin.  "  I  remember  now 
that  Gay  said  she  had  not  Jiad  a  mallet  in  her  hand 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  71 

since  she  was  a  little  girl ;  and  you  and  I  are  both 
good  players." 

"  Thorne  tells  me  he  knows  bnt  little  of  the  game/' 
said  Stratford.  "  Shall  I  take  him  on  my  side  and 
coach  him  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not,"  answered  Mrs.  Justin.  "  We 
won't  divide  in  that  way.  You  must  take  Gay,  and  I 
will  play  with  Mr.  Thorne." 

The  game  proved  to  be  a  very  long  one,  for  both 
Mrs.  Justin  and  Stratford  were  good  shots  and  excel- 
lent managers,  and  they  so  harassed  each  other  that 
advantages  on  either  side  were  slowly  gained.  But 
for  Gay  the  game  was  none  too  long.  She  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  croquet,  which  she  had  supposed 
to  be  a  thing  of  bygone  days,  relegated  now  to  chil- 
dren and  very  old-fashioned  grown  people,  was  really 
an  interesting  and  absorbing  exercise,  in  which  many 
powers  of  the  mind,  not  omitting  those  of  a  mathe- 
matical nature,  were  brought  into  vigorous  play. 
Every  shot  she  made,  every  position  she  took,  and 
even  her  manner  of  standing  and  holding  her  mallet 
were  directed  by  Mr.  Stratford ;  and  the  pleasure  of 
doing  these  things  properly,  and  of  feeling  that  every 
effort  had  its  due  value,  helped  very  much  to  give  the 
game  its  zest.  She  and  her  partner  won,  and  this 
was  not  because  Mr.  Stratford  was  a  better  player 
than  Mrs.  Justin,  or  that  Gay  knew  more  of  the  game 
than  Mr.  Thorne,  but  because  the  younger  lady  sub- 
ordinated herself  entirely  to  Stratford.  They  moved 
through  the  game  as  one  player,  neither  advancing 
far  beyond  the  other,  and  at  length  side  by  side  going 
out  of  it.  Mrs.  Justin  did  not  demand  such  subjec- 


72  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

tion  from  her  partner.  She  thought  that  sometimes 
he  ought  to  rely  on  himself,  and  when  he  did  so  she 
generally  found  that  he  had  left  little  on  which  she 
could  rely. 

As  they  walked  towards  the  house,  Gay  Armatt 
said  to  Mrs.  Justin  :  "  I  believe  Mr.  Stratford  would 
make  a  splendid  teacher.  I  think  he  ought  not  to 
deprive  the  world  of  the  benefit  of  his  extraordinary 
talents  in  that  way." 

"I  know  Mr.  Stratford  has  not  the  slightest  de- 
sire/' answered  Mrs.  Justin,  "  to  act  as  teacher  to  the 
world/'  placing  a  slight  emphasis  on  the  collective 
noun. 

Whether  Stratford  liked  teaching  or  not,  he  and 
Miss  Gay  spent  more  than  an  hour  the  next  morning 
on  the  back  piazza  of  the  house,  with  four  large 
books  from  the  library  and  an  ancient  atlas. 

"  May  I  ask/'  said  Mrs.  Justin,  when  she  came  out 
to  them,  "  what  you  two  have  found  to  keep  you  here 
all  the  morning  ?  " 

"We  haven't  been  here  all  the  morning/'  said 
Stratford,  "and  we  have  been  visiting  some  of  the 
head  springs  of  literature,  and  tracing  the  meander- 
ings  of  their  streams." 

"  You  can't  imagine/'  cried  Miss  Gay,  "  how  inter- 
esting it  has  been  !  But  I  had  no  idea,"  looking  at 
her  watch,  "  that  it  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock,  and  I 
have  two  letters  to  write  before  you  send  to  the  post- 
office  ! » 

Gay  ran  into  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Justin  took  her 
place  in  the  chair  by  Stratford.  "  It  is  a  pity/'  she 
said,  after  glancing  a  few  moments  over  the  atlas, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  73 

"  that  Mr.  Crisman  chose  to  take  his  yachting  expe- 
dition just  now.  It  would  be  so  much  more  pleasant 
for  him  to  be  here  while  you  two  gentlemen  are  in 
the  house.  I  heard  from  Mrs.  People  this  morning, 
and  she  says  she  will  not  be  able  to  return  home  un- 
til after  next  Sunday  at  the  earliest." 

Mr.  Stratford  looked  at  his  companion  with  a  very 
small  twinkle  in  his  eye,  but  with  a  grave  face. 
"  You  think,"  he  said,  "  that  Mr.  Crisman  ought  to  be 
here  while  we  are  here  ? " 

"  I  cannot  but  believe,"  she  said,  looking  steadily 
at  Stratford,  "that  it  would  be  better  for  his  in- 
terests/' 

"And  how  about  Miss  Armatt's  interests?"  he 
asked. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  the  lady,  quickly. 

"  Mrs.  Justin,"  said  Stratford,  closing  the  atlas  and 
leaning  forward  as  he  spoke,  "  I  mean  this :  Miss 
Armatt  is  a  young  woman  in  whom  I  have  taken  an 
extraordinary  interest." 

"It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that,"  re- 
marked Mrs.  Justin. 

"  You  should  not  be  surprised,"  said  he,  "  at  my 
interest  in  her,  for  you  have  the  same  feeling  your- 
self. You  know  she  is  a  girl  with  an  exceptional 
future  open  to  her,  and  you  would  do  anything  in 
your  power  to  help  her.  I  am  of  the  same  mind.  I 
believe  that  I  comprehend  very  clearly  her  present 
condition  of  intellectual  development ;  and  I  see,  too, 
in  what  directions  her  inclinations  will  lead  her  in 
regard  to  her  future  work.  I  think  her  views  are  not 
exactly  sound ,  She  needs  something  more  than  her 
7 


74=  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

college  and  her  text-books  can  give  her ;  and  I  very 
much  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  to  bring  her  to  look 
upon  literature,  philosophy,  and  science  with  the  eye 
of  an  untrammeled  thinker.  This  she  ought  to  do 
before  she  takes  another  step  forward.  And  I  hon- 
estly admit  to  you,  Mrs.  Justin,  that  I  am  very  glad 
to  have  the  opportunity,  uninterrupted  by  Mr.  Cris- 
man's  weekly  visit,  to  do  what  I  can  to  assist  in  the 
cutting  and  polishing  of  this  jewel  in  your  crown.7' 

"  You  know,  Mr.  Stratford/'  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "that 
I  expected  you  to  take  an  interest  in  Gay,  and  that  I 
should  have  been  very  much  disappointed  if  you  had 
not  done  so;  but  I  did  not  expect  that  she  would 
take  such  a  deep  and  absorbing  interest  in  you." 

"I  cannot  say/7  answered  Stratford  after  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  "  that  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that ;  because 
if  she  is  interested  in  me  she  will  be  the  more  likely 
to  give  an  earnest  attention  to  what  I  say." 

"Horace  Stratford/'  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "did  any- 
body ever  turn  you  the  least  bit  to  the  right  or  the 
left?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered.  "  Here  is  this  young  creature, 
with  the  mind  of  a  philosopher  and  the  heart  of  a 
girl,  who  has  turned  me  entirely  aside  from  what  I 
thought  I  was  going  to  do  when  I  came  down  here." 

"It  is  just  that  girl-heart  which  troubles  me," 
thought  Mrs.  Justin.  But  she  did  not  deem  it  proper 
to  speak  her  thought.  Gay  Armatt  was  engaged  to  be 
married,  and  what  had  she  or  Mr.  Stratford  to  do  with 
her  girl-heart  ?  So  she  continued  not  this  conversa- 
tion ;  but,  after  gazing  a  moment  at  the  vines  upon 
the  lattice- work  beside  her,  she  looked  over  the  lawn. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  75 

"  What  has  Mr.  Thorne  been  doing  with  himself  this 
morning?"  she  asked.  "  He  is  now  sitting  alone, 
down  there  on  the  bench  by  the  bank.  I  think  he 
has  been  outrageously  neglected." 

"  I  can't  agree  with  you/7  said  Stratford,  "  for  im- 
mediately after  breakfast  he  started  out  on  some  sort 
of  pedestrian  expedition,  without  saying  anything  to 
me  about  it.  I  knew  nothing  of  his  intention  until  I 
saw  him  marching  away  over  the  hills.  He  is  an  odd 
fellow,  and  I  suppose  he  thought  it  was  his  duty,  on 
a  fine  morning  like  this,  to  walk." 

"Mr.  Thorne  is  very  conscientious,  is  he  not?" 
asked  Mrs.  Justin. 

"  He  is  entirely  too  conscientious." 

"How  can  any  one  be  too  conscientious?"  asked 
the  lady  with  some  warmth. 

"  It  is  quite  possible,"  answered  Stratford.  "  Arthur 
Thorne  has  an  abnormal  conscience.  He  has  culti- 
vated it  so  carefully  that  I  believe  it  has  grown  to 
be  a  thing  which  overshadows  his  life.  Now,  I  prefer 
for  myself  a  conscience  which  is  pruned  down  to 
healthy  and  vigorous  growth." 

"  And  who  does  the  pruning  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Justin. 

"  I  do,"  answered  Stratford  with  a  smile.  And 
then  he  went  down  to  join  Mr.  Thorne  upon  the 
lawn. 

"  Why  did  you  start  off  this  morning  without  say- 
ing anything  to  me  about  it?"  asked  Stratford,  as  he 
took  a  seat  by  his  friend. 

Mr.  Thorne  smiled.  "  I  thought,"  he  said,  "  that  if 
I  asked  you,  politeness  might  impel  you  to  go  with 
me  ;  and  as  I  saw  Miss  Armatt  alone  with  her  books 


76  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

on  the  piazza,  I  knew  where  your  chosen  place  would 
be.  Would  it  be  stepping  outside  of  the  privileges  of 
friendship  if  I  were  to  offer  you  my  congratulations, 
together  with  my  most  unqualified  commendation  ?  " 

"My  dear  Thorne,"  exclaimed  Stratford,  "your 
reason  has  taken  grasshopper  legs  unto  itself,  and 
has  jumped  most  wildly  !  Let  us  speak  plainly.  Do 
you  suppose  I  am  making  love  to  Miss  Armatt  ?  " 

11 1  supposed,"  said  Thorne,  "  from  the  general  tone 
of  your  intercourse  with  the  young  lady,  that  the  pre- 
liminary stage  of  love-making  had  been  passed,  and 
that  you  were  engaged." 

"  You  amaze  me  ! "  cried  Stratford.  "  There  is 
nothing  whatever  of  that  sort  between  me  and  Miss 
Armatt !  I  never  saw  her  until  I  came  up  here,  about 
two  weeks  ago.  I  am  exceedingly  interested  in  her 
studies  and  in  her  prospects,  and  that  is  the  basis  of 
our  intimacy." 

"I  shall  not  ask  your  pardon,"  said  Mr.  Thorne, 
"  for  the  mistake  was  a  compliment  to  your  taste  and 
good  sense.  I  used  to  think  that  Mrs.  Justin,  with- 
out question,  was  the  most  charming  woman  of  my 
acquaintance  j  but  since  I  have  seen  Miss  Armatt,  I 
have  revolved  the  matter  somewhat  in  my  mind.  In 
fact,  that  was  what  I  was  doing  just  now  when  you 
came." 

"  A  most  profitless  revolution,"  remarked  Stratford. 

As  the  two  men  walked  together  towards  the  house, 
it  occurred  to  Stratford  that  he  had  not  mentioned  to 
his  friend  that  Miss  Armatt  was  indeed  engaged  to 
be  married,  though  not  to  himself.  But  the  subject 
of  Mr.  Crisman  was  not  agreeable  to  him,  and  he  did 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  77 

not  care  to  discuss  it;  therefore  he  said  nothing 
about  it. 

That  afternoon  Arthur  Thorne  took  Miss  Armatt 
to  drive  in  his  friend  Stratford's  buggy.  Arthur  had 
taken  lessons  in  driving  from  a  professional,  and  he 
was  the  only  man  with  whom  Stratford  would  trust 
his  horse.  Mrs.  Justin  did  not  say  to  herself  that 
Mr.  Thorne  was  the  only  man  with  whom  she  would 
trust  Gay,  but  she  was  very  willing  to  have  him  go 
with  her,  his  abnormal  conscience  not  appearing  as  a 
fault  in  her  eyes.  It  was  not,  perhaps,  entirely  suit- 
able that  Gay  should  go  driving  with  any  young  man 
other  than  her  engaged  lover;  but,  as  Mr.  Crisman 
chose  to  stay  away,  Mrs.  Justin  did  not  feel  inclined 
to  shut  up  her  young  friend  on  that  account. 

As  for  Gay  herself,  she  went  very  willingly  with 
Mr.  Thorne,  but  she  could  not  help  feeling  a  little 
disappointed  that  it  had  not  been  Mr.  Stratford  who 
had  asked  her.  Several  times  during  the  drive, 
which  was  a  long  and  interesting  one,  she  was  em- 
ployed in  making  mental  comparisons  between  Mr. 
Stratford  and  Mr.  Thorne,  at  moments  when  the 
latter  thought  she  was  absorbed  in  contemplation  of 
the  landscape.  And  yet  she  liked  Mr.  Thorne  very 
much,  and  would  probably  like  him  better  when  she 
knew  him  better.  There  was  here  none  of  that  fire- 
and-wax  sympathy  which  had  shown  itself  in  the 
early  stages  of  her  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Stratford. 
Mr.  Thorne  spoke  but  little  on  those  subjects  in 
which  her  mind  was  most  deeply  interested,  and  what 
he  did  say  was  not  at  all  what  Mr.  Stratford  would 
have  said.  But  she  felt,  when  she  returned  from  her 


78  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

drive,  that  she  had  spent  the  afternoon  with  one  who 
was  truly  a  gentleman.  Mr.  Thorne  had  done  noth- 
ing which  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  produce  this  im- 
pression, but  the  impression  had  been  produced ;  and 
Gay  Armatt  could  not  help  thinking  that  it  was  a 
very  pleasant  thing  to  be  in  the  company  of  persons 
who  were  truly  gentlemen. 

But,  in  her  thoughts,  Gay  instituted  no  compari- 
sons between  Mr.  Crisman  and  other  men.  Other 
men  were  other  men,  and  had  their  faults  and  their 
merits.  But  Mr.  Crisman  was  in  a  different  sphere 
altogether ;  he  was  her  lover,  and  she  was  to  marry 
him;  and  with  him  criticism  and  comparison  had 
nothing  to  do. 


CHAPTER  VII 


ENOCH  BULLRIPPLE  lay  in 
his  bed,  in  his  room  at  his  lodging- 
house,  and  gazed  steadily  at  a  large 
lithographic  picture  of  the  death- 
bed of  Jonathan  Edwards  which 
hung  on  the  wall  opposite  to  him. 
This  work  of  art  was  moderately  lighted  by  a  cluster 
of  electric  lamps,  which,  half  a  mile  from  his  window, 
was  suspended  two  hundred  feet  in  the  air  for  the  all- 
night  lighting  of  the  city  park  and  its  surrounding 
bedrooms.  He  thought  nothing  of  the  expiring  theo- 
logian, but  he  was  thinking  very  earnestly  and  act- 
ively of  the  conversation  he  had  just  had  with  his 
sister  in  regard  to  the  expediency  of  bringing  about 
a  holiday  for  his  nephew,  John.  Enoch  would  have 
been  very  glad  to  do  this  solely  for  the  sake  of  the 
young  man,  who  truly  needed  rest  and  recreation; 
but  he  was  much  more  willing  to  do  it  for  his  own 
sake.  He  greatly  desired  to  have  the  opportunity  to 
institute  an  inquisition  into  the  constitution  of  the 
Vatoldi  establishment,  and  this  he  believed  could  be 
done  only  in  John's  absence.  In  devising  and  discard- 
ing this  plan  and  that  for  getting  rid  of  John  for  a 
few  days,  Mr.  Bullripple  fell  asleep. 

79 


80  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

In  another  room  of  the  lodging-house  lay  Mrs.  Peo- 
ple, gazing  at  a  steel  engraving  of  a  hunter  returning 
from  the  chase,  surrounded  by  piles  of  dead  game, 
the  transportation  of  which  could  only  be  accounted 
for  by  supposing  that  he  coaxed  the  various  creatures 
to  his  doorstep  and  there  dispatched  them.  But  Mrs. 
People  thought  not  of  the  hunter  or  his  victims ;  her 
mind  was  fixed  upon  the  necessity  of  getting  John 
off  for  a  holiday  before  old  Vatoldi  came  in  from  the 
country,  or  wherever  it  was  that  he  was  staying.  In 
devising  and  discarding  plans  for  this  purpose  she 
fell  asleep. 

Very  early  the  next  day  this  worthy  brother  and  sis- 
ter, each  utterly  planless,  and  somewhat  dejected  on 
that  account,  made  their  way  to  Vatoldi's,  where,  of 
course,  they  took  their  meals.  Enoch  was  much  the 
faster  walker,  and,  partly  because  she  was  tired  keep- 
ing up  with  him,  and  partly  because  she  wanted  an 
apple,  a  fruit  that  was  not  to  be  had  at  Vatoldi's  at 
that  season,  she  stopped  at  the  stand  of  Dennis  Roon, 
where  she  had  bought  apples  before,  and  had  thus 
formed  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  proprietor. 

Mr.  Boon  was  an  apple-stand  keeper  of  prominence ; 
in  fact,  his  stand,  which  was  at  the  corner  of  two 
busy  streets,  not  far  from  Vatoldi's,  was,  from  a  cer- 
tain point  of  view,  the  most  important  place  of  busi- 
ness in  the  neighborhood.  This  point  of  view  was 
Dennis  Boon's  point  of  view.  Nothing  could  be  so 
important  in  the  eyes  of  himself  and  his  family  as 
that  the  stand  should  be  opened  at  the  proper  time  in 
the  morning;  that  certain  apples  should  be  rubbed 
and  placed  in  one  compartment;  that  certain  other 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  81 

apples  should  be  rubbed  and  placed  in  another  com- 
partment; that  this  bunch  of  bananas  should  be 
turned  this  way,  and  that  bunch  should  be  turned  the 
other  way  ;  and  that  just  so  many  oranges  should  be 
kept  in  a  corner  box  where  they  would  attract  the 
attention  of  people  coming  from  different  directions. 
These  matters,  with  many  others,  such  as  the  prob- 
able relation  of  the  weather  to  the  day's  trade,  or  the 
varied  arrangements  of  the  little  awning,  so  that 
keeping  off  the  sunshine  should  not  interfere  too 
much  with  the  attraction  of  purchasers,  were  dis- 
cussed with  as  much  earnestness  and  warmth  by 
Dennis,  his  wife  and  son  and  oldest  daughter,  as  if 
they  had  been  questions  of  Home  Rule  or  Pan- 
Electricity. 

Dennis  was  a  strong-built,  black-bearded  man, 
loaded  and  crammed,  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to 
the  heel  of  his  foot,  with  active  vitality.  He  was 
never  still  so  long  as  there  was  anything  to  do,  and 
never  silent  so  long  as  there  was  anybody  to  speak  to. 
In  connection  with  his  stand  he  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  boot-blacking,  and  two  arm-chairs,  one  on 
each  street,  were  always  ready  for  customers.  The 
son  and  heir,  with  shirt-sleeves  of  the  same  blue  flan- 
nel spotted  with  white  of  which  his  father's  sleeves 
were  made,  was  the  boot-black;  but  when  occasion 
required,  Dennis  would  dash  from  boots  to  apples  and 
from  apples  to  boots  with  astonishing  readiness  and 
celerity.  In  the  earliest  hours  of  street  pedestrianism 
his  stand  was  open,  and  his  wares  remained  on  view 
and  sale  until  after  midnight.  Even  on  Sundays  the 
business  went  on,  and  the  halo  of  importance  hung  over 


82  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

the  stand.  If  on  a  fine  Sunday  one  of  Dennis's  custom- 
ers, dressed  in  his  best  clothes  and  smoking  the  cigar 
in  which  he  always  indulged  of  a  Sunday  morning, 
came  from  his  house  with  an  air  of  leisurely  inde- 
pendence to  buy  his  Sunday  paper  and  have  his 
boots  blacked,  and  chanced  to  bring  his  little  girl 
along  with  him,  it  was  ten,  or  even  eleven,  to  one 
that  Dennis  gave  that  little  girl  an  apple,  selecting  the 
fruit  from  a  box  in  the  lower  part  of  the  stand.  This 
apple  would  be  specked,  and  not  one  which  the  cus- 
tomer would  have  bought  had  he  been  buying  apples ; 
but,  as  it  was  a  present  to  his  child,  he  walked  away 
with  that  feeling  of  elevated  satisfaction  which  is 
caused  by  the  reception  of  presents  which  we  feel  are 
tributes  to  the  value  of  our  patronage. 

Mrs.  People  selected  a  well-preserved  red  apple 
from  the  stand,  and  then  she  said : 

"  It  seems  to  me  it  is  very  late  for  apples.  In  our 
part  of  the  country  they  were  gone  long  ago.  Where 
do  these  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  the  market  down  town,"  answered  Dennis ; 
"but  where  the  trees  grow  I  niver  heard.  But  ye 
can  always  thrust  to  there  bein*  apples  all  the  year 
round.  The  old  ones  always  waits  till  the  new  ones 
cooms." 

"  That's  very  different  from  what  it  is  up  our  way," 
said  Mrs.  People,  "  but  it's  a  lucky  thing  that  city 
folks  have  something  to  console  themselves  with.  I've 
barely  been  here  two  days  yet,  and  Fm  hankerin'  for 
home." 

"You're  havin'  a  hard  time  there  at  Vatoldi's, 
mum/'  said  Dennis,  who  knew  all  about  the  boycott, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  83 

and  had  taken  a  great  interest  in  its  progress ;  "  and 
if  ye'd  coom  to  town  when  things  was  smoother  ye7d 
a  liked  it  better.  And  ain't  there  no  signs  of  them 
blockheads  coomin7  back  to  work  and  givin7  up  their 
coat-tails  ?  If  I  was  Misther  People  that  kapes  the 
place,  I'd  break  the  head  of  ivery  one  of  'em  that 
said  ( tail 7  to  me." 

"Mr.  People  is  my  son,  sir,  and  he  don't  keep  the 
place  himself,  which  I  wish  he  did,  because  then  Pd 
make  him  give  it  up,  and  come  home,  and  go  to 
farmin',  like  his  father  before  him.  But  here  he  is, 
wearin7  himself  out,  and  killin7  himself,  for  somebody 
else.  For,  as  I  said  to  him  yesterday,  i  it's  no  differ- 
ence to  you,  John,  whether  they  wear  jackets  or  coat- 
tails  ;  and  if  I  was  you,  Pd  just  go  home  and  rest  for 
a  spell  while  there  is  so  little  doin',  and  let  old 
Vatoldi  come  down  and  settle  the  business  with  the 
waiters  himself.7  77 

"  I  thought  that  man  was  dead,  mum,77  said  Dennis. 

"  He  isn7t  dead  a  bit,"  answered  Mrs.  People.  "  He's 
livin7  up  the  North  Eiver  somewhere,  either  at  Yon- 
kers  or  Newburgh ;  at  least,  that's  what  I  take  it  to 
be  from  what  John  tells  me,  though  he  never  named 
either  of  them  towns.  And  then,  as  I  was  sayin7,  if 
John  could  be  got  off  into  the  country, — and  he7s 
not  had  a  decent  rest  for  nigh  on  to  two  years, — the 
old  man  would  have  to  come  down ;  and  then  me  and 
my  brother  —  that7s  Mr.  Bullripple  —  could  go  home 
too.77 

Dennis  paused  in  the  removal  of  the  wrapping  from 
an  orange  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  turned  towards 
Mrs.  People.  "  It's  my  opinion,  mum,77  he  said,  "  that 


84  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

you've  pitched  your  hat  right  into  the  middle  of  that 
boycott  business,  and  if  you  go  there  to  pick  it  up, 
you'll  see  things  just  as  they  is.  As  like  as  not,  them 
waiters  is  more  set  agin  your  son,  mum,  than  they 
would  be  agin  anybody  else,  because  he's  the  one 
that  won't  let  'em  have  their  coat-tails.  Now,  if  he 
was  to  go  away,  and  let  the  head  boss  coom  and  talk 
to  them,  he  might  be  able  to  sthraighten  things  out 
quicker  than  Misther  People  could  do  it.  Though 
I  must  say,  mum,  that  I'd  feel  like  warmin'  their 
jackets  for  'em  afther  they  put  'em  on." 

"  But  we  can't  get  him  to  go,"  said  Mrs.  People, 
who  had  half  eaten  her  apple.  "  He  won't  listen  to 

it;' 

"  If  ye  could  make  him  see,  mum,"  said  Mr.  Roon, 
"  that  it  wasn't  on'y  for  the  good  of  his  hilth,  but  for 
the  good  of  the  business,  perhaps  he'd  go." 

"  It's  no  use,"  said  Mrs.  People,  shaking  her  head. 
"Me  and  his  uncle  has  talked  and  talked  to  him,  but 
you  might  as  well  try  to  push  down  a  lamp-post  as 
to  move  John." 

"  There  is  them,  mum,"  said  Dennis,  "  which  if 
they  won't  move  for  their  own  good,  must  be  moved 
by  their  frinds.  And  that  brings  to  me  moind  the 
case  of  me  sister-in-law,  Missis  Follory.  She  was 
very  bad  with  the  consumption,  mum,  most  part  of 
her  lungs  bein'  gone,  and  the  rest  just  like  wood  for 
hardness ;  and  the  doctor  said  she  ought  to  go  to 
Cuby,  and  breathe  sugar." 

"  Breathe  what  ? "  exclaimed  Mrs.  People. 

"  They  go  into  the  houses  where  they  make  sugar, 
mum,  and  the  air  is  all  full  of  sugar  and  melasses, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  85 

and  they  breathe  that,  and  it  ayther  makes  their 
lungs  grow  agin,  or  softens  'em,  I  niver  knew  which ; 
but  it's  good  for  consumption.  And  that's  what  the 
doctor  said  she  must  do.  But  niver  an  inch  would 
Missis  Follory  budge,  though  all  her  frinds  and  rela- 
tions got  afther  her  and  towld  her  that  she  was  just 
murtherin'  herself  to  sit  there  a-sewin'  and  con- 
thractin'  her  chist  whin  she  might  as  well  be  re- 
coverin'  her  hilth,  a-breathin'  sugar  and  melasses,  and, 
perhaps,  a  little  bit  of  Jamaiky  rum,  too,  for  I  don't 
see  how  they  can  keep  that  out  of  the  air  any  more'n 
the  ither  things;  and  Mike  Follory,  her  husband, 
who  married  her  afther  me  brother  died,  towld  her  it 
ud  be  just  as  chape  to  go  down  there  and  get  well, 
and  be  able  to  take  in  washin'  like  she  used  to,  as  to 
stay  here  and  be  dyin'  for  nobody  knows  how  long. 
And  Missis  McGee,  she  offered  to  board  him  for  two 
dollars  a  week  till  his  wife  come  home,  all  for  the 
love  she  bore  Missis  Follory.  But  niver  an  inch  would 
Missis  Follory  budge.  Then  her  frinds  and  relations 
they  put  their  heads  togither,  and  they  says,  '  She's 
got  to  go  ! '  And,  all  unbeknownst  to  her,  Mike  he 
bought  her  a  ticket  in  a  ship  that  was  sailin'  for  Cuby. 
And  then  he  says  to  her,  'If  you  won't  go  to  the 
West  Injees  to  get  back  your  lungs,  perhaps  you 
won't  moind  takin'  a  sail  on  the  bay  with  me  and 
Misther  Roon,'  which  is  me,  mum.  And  she  didn't 
moind,  and  she  wint.  And  when  she  got  outside  the 
bar  the  ship  joggled  her  a  good  deal,  and  Misther  Fol- 
lory and  me  we  towld  her  she'd  better  go  down-stairs 
and  lie  down  till  the  ship  turned  roond  to  coom  back, 
which  she  did.  Then  me  and  Misther  Follory  we  got 
8 


86  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

into  the  poilot-boat  and  coom  home.  And  Missis  Fol- 
lory she  got  sicker  an'  sicker  till  she  died  on  the 
second  day  of  the  v'yage.  But  it  was  saysickness  she 
died  of,  mum,  and  not  consumption.  She'd  got  well 
of  that  if  she'd  only  once  set  foot  in  Cuby.  And 
Misther  Follory  he  married  Missis  McGee.  So  you 
see,  mum,  there's  a  way  for  makin'  people  do  things 
for  their  own  good,  as  won't  do  'em  without  bein' 
made.  And  if  I  was  you,  mum,  I'd  go  to  my  son, 
mum,  and  I'd  say,  l  John,  Misther  Roon,  as  keeps  the 
apple-stand,  has  just  towld  me  that  there's  a  stamer 
down  the  East  Eiver  that's  goin'  to  sail  for  some  of 
them  down  south  places  this  afthernoon,  which  the 
steward  of  brings  bananas  to  Misther  Roon  every 
thrip  j  and  if  I  was  you,  I'd  go  down  south  in  that 
stamer  and  buy  a  lot  of  chape  cabbages  and  pittaties, 
and  coom  back  and  foind  the  waiters  all  workin' 
paceable  in  their  jackets,  and  sell  the  pittaties  and 
cabbages  to  the  boss.' " 

"That  would  be  very  nice,"  said  Mrs.  People, 
throwing  away  the  core  of  her  apple,  "  but  I  wouldn't 
want  my  son  John  to  die  in  two  days  of  seasickness. 
And  I  don't  believe  he'd  go,  anyway.  But  I  must 
hurry  on,  Mr.  Roon.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for 
your  story,  though  it's  a  great  pity  that  your  sister- 
in-law  died,  and  everybody  in  the  kitchen  may  be 
boycotted  by  this  time,  for  all  I  know." 

"  Ye  need  niver  be  afraid  of  your  son  dyin'  with 
saysickness,"  shouted  Dennis  after  her,  "  for  he's  got 
a  moighty  different  koind  of  a  set-up  from  what 
Missis  Follory  had." 

When  Mrs.  People  reached  Vatoldi's  she  did  not 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  87 

immediately  see  John,  but  she  explained  to  Enoch 
her  delay  by  recounting  to  him,  with  all  its  details, 
her  conversation  with  Mr.  Roon. 

Somewhat  to  her  surprise,  Mr.  Bullripple  listened 
to  her  with  patience,  and  even  interest,  and  when  she 
had  finished  said :  "  Now,  don't  say  a  word  to  John 
about  this  till  you  and  me  has  had  time  to  talk  the 
matter  over  a  little  more.  I've  got  to  go  now  to 
attend  to  some  things  outside." 

Thereupon  Mrs.  People  betook  herself  to  the  kitch- 
en, and  Mr.  Bulripple  went  to  see  Dennis  Roon,  with 
whom  he  had  an  earnest  talk. 

"  Now,  look  here,  sir/'  said  Mr.  Roon,  after  listen- 
ing attentively  to  some  remarks  from  the  old  man, 
"  that  sort  of  thing  moight  do  very  well  wid  Missis 
Follory,  wid  most  of  her  lungs  gone,  but  it's  alto- 
gither  another  piece  of  business  wid  a  sthout  young 
mon  like  Misther  People.  I  can  stand  on  me  own 
legs  as  well  as  the  nixt  mon,  but  I'm  the  f eyther  uv  a 
fam'ly,  and  I  don't  want  me  head  cracked,  even  if  I 
am  the  top  mon  in  the  ind." 

"  Don't  you  trouble  yourself  about  that,"  said  Mr. 
Bullripple.  "  When  my  nephew  comes  back  he'll 
find  himself  better  off  than  he  ever  was  before  in  his 
life,  and  instead  of  fighting  anybody,  he'll  want  to 
shake  hands  all  round  and  stand  treat." 

"  It  moight  be  for  his  good,"  said  Dennis,  "  to  take 
a  thrip  loike  that,  and  git  acquainted  wid  the  chape 
cabbage  and  pittaty  men." 

"  It'll  be  for  his  good  in  a  lot  of  ways,"  said  Enoch. 
"You  don't  suppose  his  mother  and  me  would  be 
wantin'  to  send  him  away  if  it  wasn't  for  his  good. 


88  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Now,  if  you'll  attend  to  this  business  for  me,  well 
just  give  you  the  thanks  of  the  whole  family,  and  I'll 
throw  in  five  dollars  besides.  And,  if  you  have  to 
spend  anything,  I'll  pay  it  back  to  you." 

"All  roight,  sir!  all  roight!"  exclaimed  Dennis, 
vigorously  changing  the  positions  of  a  dozen  large 
apples  which  stood  in  a  row.  "  I'm  not  the  mon  to 
back  down  from  sarvin'  a  whole  f  am'ly  in  disthress. 
You  sind  him  to  me,  sir,  and  Fll  fix  it  all  sthraight. 
I  don't  ask  fur  me  f oive  dollars  nather,  but  I  won't 
be  mane  enough  to  run  agin  the  intherests  of  me 
own  children,  and  the  clothes  they  could  buy  for  the 
money." 

When  Enoch  Bullripple  got  back  to  Vatoldi's  he 
found  his  nephew  John  in  a  very  bad  humor.  A  prod- 
uce dealer  who  had  long  served  him  with  vegetables 
had  been  influenced  by  the  boy  cotters  to  decline  to 
furnish  Vatoldi's  with  any  further  supplies  in  his  line 
until  the  demands  of  the  waiters  had  been  complied 
with.  This  action  on  the  part  of  the  dealer,  to  whom 
Vatoldi's  had  been  a  most  excellent  customer,  so  en- 
raged John  that  he  vowed  that  under  no  circum- 
stances would  he  ever  again  buy  anything  from  that 
man.  It  was,  therefore,  with  a  wrathful  independ- 
ence of  spirit  that  he  listened  to  his  uncle's  statement 
that  the  man  who  kept  the  apple-stand  two  blocks 
below  would  be  glad  to  make  him  acquainted  with 
the  steward  of  the  steamer  which  was  to  sail  that 
afternoon,  who  would,  no  doubt,  make  a  contract 
with  him  to  bring  him  from  the  South  all  the  vege- 
tables he  wanted,  and  a  great  deal  better  ones,  and 
cheaper  than  he  could  get  them  here. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  89 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  had  said  this,  he  said  no  nfbre, 
but  went  about  his  duties,  and  John  went  about  his 
own.  But  at  noon  John  put  on  his  hat,  and  leaving 
the  establishment,  at  which  few  luncheon-desiring 
customers  had  yet  arrived,  to  the  care  of  his  uncle, 
he  went  out  to  see  the  apple-man. 

Dennis  Roon  was  very  eloquent  in  regard  to  the 
subject  of  obtaining  early  vegetables  direct  from  the 
South.  John  listened  attentively,  but  did  not  say 
much  in  reply.  He  was  not  as  angry  as  he  had  been, 
but  he  was  still  determined  to  free  himself  from  the 
power  of  the  dealers  in  vegetables.  If  one  could  be 
influenced  by  the  boycotters,  so  might  the  others. 

"  I'll  tell  ye,  Misther  People,"  said  Dennis  Eoon, 
"what  I'll  do  fur  ye.  I'll  go  down  to  that  stamer 
wid  ye,  and  inthroduce  ye  to  the  steward.  He's  a 
foine  eye  for  bananas,  and  all  he  knows  about  thim 
he  knows  about  termatties  and  swate  pittaties.  If  he 
can't  fetch  ye  thim  things  himself,  he'll  make  a  con- 
thract  for  ye  with  thim  as  can  sind  'em.  Now,  whin 
can  ye  go  down  to  the  pier  wid  me  ?  " 

John  replied  that  he  could  go  between  three  and 
four  o'clock  that  afternoon,  that  being  the  time  when 
he  had  most  leisure.  Having  made  these  arrange- 
ments, he  went  back  to  Vatoldi's,  perceiving  as  he 
neared  the  door  that  the  sidewalks  had  been  freshly 
sprinkled  with  the  boycotters7  circulars,  which  many 
passers-by  were  picking  up  and  reading. 

When  John  went  to  the  bank  that  afternoon,  his 
report  to  Mr.  Stull,  combined  with  that  gentleman's 
own  observations  during  the  day,  might  have  been 
expected  to  produce  a  depressing  effect  upon  the 


90  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

mind  of  the  proprietor  of  Vatoldi's.  But  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Stull  was  not  to  be  thus  depressed.  As  a  thor- 
oughly equipped  restaurant-keeper,  engaged  in  com- 
bat with  a  host  of  recusant  employees,  his  abilities 
shone  at  their  brightest.  The  business  at  Vatoldi's 
was  demoralized  in  every  branch  ;  many  of  the  regu- 
lar customers  kept  away,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
present  inferior  service,  but  for  fear  of  disturbance  j 
and,  although  the  tables  at  some  hours  were  moder- 
ately well  filled,  it  was  by  people  who  were  brought 
there  by  curiosity,  or  by  a  desire  to  assist  the  op- 
pressed. These  were  not  the  patrons  Mr.  Stull 
wanted,  for  he  knew  that  Vatoldi's  could  only  be  sup- 
ported by  customers  who  came  there  for  their  own 
good.  Most  of  the  new  waiters  were  unpracticed 
and  inefficient,  and,  worse  than  that,  several  had  left 
the  night  before,  being  frightened  by  the  boycotters, 
and  there  was  danger  that  the  whole  force  might  de- 
camp at  any  moment.  But  the  soul  of  Mr.  Stull  rose 
grandly  above  this  storm.  He  assured  John  that  he 
would  never  give  in  to  the  demands  of  the  rascals, 
and  that  no  coat-tail  should  ever  profane  his  estab- 
lishment. 

"  If  I  could  come  forward  in  my  own  proper  per- 
son," he  said,  raising  his  tall  and  large-boned  figure  to 
its  greatest  height,  "  which,  as  you  well  know,  my 
present  social  and  business  position  forbids,  I  would 
show  those  waiters  that  they  were  running  against  a 
wall  of  rock  when  they  ran  against  me.  But  as  I  can- 
not do  this,  I  expect  you  to  stand  up  in  my  place." 

Thereupon  Mr.  Stull  loaded  his  manager  with  in- 
junctions and  directions.  He  instructed  him  in  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  91 

methods  by  which  Mr.  Bullripple  and  Mrs.  People 
could  be  made  even  more  useful  than  they  now  were. 
He  approved  of  efforts  to  obtain  direct  supplies  of 
Southern  products.  And  he  poured  into  John's  mind 
more  points  of  restaurant  management,  joined  with 
defense  against  boycotters,  than  that  receptacle  could 
well  contain. 

As  John  went  away  to  keep  his  appointment  with 
the  apple-man,  he  took  off  his  hat  and  walked  with  it 
in  his  hand  ;  his  head  required  cooling.  Dennis  was 
ready  for  him,  and  the  two  took  a  street-car  for  the 
pier.  John  noticed  that  his  companion  carried  in  his 
hand  a  cheap  but  new  valise,  well  filled;  but,  not 
being  in  the  habit  of  asking  questions  about  the  busi- 
ness of  other  people,  he  did  not  allude  to  it. 

On  reaching  the  steamer  they  found  it  a  scene  of 
great  activity  ;  and  when  they  went  on  board,  Dennis 
left  his  companion  and  hurried  forward.  In  a  few 
moments  he  returned,  and  said  to  John  :  "  By  Jarge, 
sir,  they're  jist  a-goin'  to  sthart !  But  the  steward  he 
tills  me  that  if  we'd  loike  to  take  a  little  thrip  doon 
the  bay,  and  coom  back  with  the  poilot,  he'll  have 
toime  to  talk  wid  ye  about  the  vigitables,  which  he 
says  he  can  git  ye  by  the  cart-load  three  times  a  week, 
and  as  chape  as  the  dirt  they  grow  in." 

"But  won't  we  be  charged  for  such  a  trip  ?"  asked 
John. 

"  And  do  ye  s'pose  ye'd  be  expected  to  pay  for  a 
small  sail  like  that  whin  ye'r  just  takin'  it  to  make  a 
conthract  wid  one  of  the  ship's  officers  ?  Bedad,  sir, 
there'll  be  none  of  that !  " 

In  the  present  condition  of  his  brow  and  his  body, 


92  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

John  was  very  willing  to  refresh  himself  with  a  trip 
down  the  bay;  and,  although  he  did  not  think  he 
could  very  well  spare  the  time,  his  inclinations,  com- 
bined with  what  he  believed  to  be  a  duty,  induced 
him  to  agree  to  the  apple-man's  proposal. 

There  were  very  few  passengers  going  South  at 
that  time  of  year,  and  John  had  the  after-deck  all 
to  himself.  "When  the  steamer  started,  Mr.  Boon's 
expressions  of  delight  at  the  pleasures  of  the  excur- 
sion were  vehement  and  frequent. 

"  Even  if  ye  niver  buy  so  much  as  a  pittaty  skin, 
this  thrip  will  be  worth  the  little  throuble  ye  took  to 
git  it  by  manes  of  its  fillin'  yer  lungs  wid  say-air, 
and  settin'  you  up  sthrong  agin  for  your  work." 

Every  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  this  worthy  Irishman 
went  forward  to  see  if  the  time  had  come  for  John's 
business  to  be  attended  to,  but  always  returned  say- 
ing that  the  steward  was  very  busy,  but  that  he 
would  see  Mr.  People  in  plenty  of  time. 

"  How  far  do  they  go  out  before  the  pilot  leaves 
them  f  "  asked  John,  who  knew  very  little  of  marine 
affairs. 

"  Oh,  a  long  ways/'  answered  Dennis,  "  for  they've 
got  to  git  clane  clare  of  all  the  sand-bars  afore  they  let 
go  uv  him.  And  ye  needn't  be  afraid  that  me,  the 
feyther  of  a  fam'ly  that's  expectin'  me  to  coom  home 
to  supper,  and  thin  be  off  to  the  stand  to  let  Pat 
coom  and  git  his,  is  goin'  to  be  lift.  Pve  tried  this 
thing  afore,  Misther  People,  and  Pm  not  the  mon  to 
git  lift  by  the  poilot." 

The  water  was  beginning  to  be  pretty  rough,  and 
the  sea-breeze  very  fresh,  when  Dennis  came  to  John 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  93 

and  informed  him  that  the  steward  was  ready  now  to 
see  him,  and  would  he  come  down-stairs  ? 

John  had  so  much  enjoyed  the  unaccustomed  pleas- 
ure of  this  water  excursion  that  he  had  almost  for- 
gotten that  there  were  such  things  as  cabbages  and 
potatoes  ;  and  when  he  followed  Dennis  below  he  did 
not  notice  that  the  engine  had  stopped,  and  that  the 
speed  of  the  steamer  was  slacking. 

"  Jist  set  down  there,"  said  Dennis,  "  and  I'll  fetch 
him  in  a  minute.77 

And  then  the  apple-man  hurried  on  deck,  descended 
into  the  pilot-boat,  and  returned  to  New  York. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Boon  was  eagerly  listened  to  by 
Enoch  Bullripple.  "And  you  gave  my  letter,  with 
the  ticket  in  it,  to  somebody  to  hand  to  him,  and  you 
put  his  valise  in  the  room  that  I  engaged  for  him  ? " 

"  Yis,"  said  Dennis,  "  I  did  all  of  thim  things,  and 
I  put  two  apples  on  his  bid  to  remoind  him  of  home. 
He'll  be  a  happy  mon,  Misther  Bullripple,  to-morrow 
and  the  nixt  day,  a-v'yagin*  over  the  paceful  say;  and 
coom  back  sthrong  and  hearty,  and  ready  to  let  you 
and  his  lady  mither  go  back  to  yer  home  in  the  rural 
disthricts.  And  I  give  the  poilot  a  dollar,  and  me 
car-fare  was  tin  cints." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HE  Saturday  and  Sunday  on  which 
Mr.  Crisman  chose  to  join  a  yacht- 
ing excursion,  instead  of  making  the 
visit  to  Cherry  Bridge  which  had 
been  expected  of  him,  were  two  of 
the  most  charming  days  of  June; 
and,  although  Mrs.  Justin  remarked  several  times 
that  it  was  a  great  pity  Mr.  Crisman  could  not  be 
with  them  in  this  lovely  weather,  she  was  obliged  to 
admit  that  such  weather  must  also  be  very  delightful 
on  the  water.  Miss  Gay  made  no  remarks  concern- 
ing Mr.  Crisman's  absence,  but  she  seemed  to  be 
doing  a  great  deal  of  thinking,  either  on  this  subject 
or  some  other.  As  for  Mr.  Stratford,  it  could  not 
have  made  much  difference  to  him  whether  or  not 
Mr.  Crisman  was  there  on  the  Saturday,  for  he  spent 
the  greater  part  of  that  day  in  writing  letters. 

Shortly  after  breakfast  Miss  Gay  went  into  the 
parlor  with  some  books,  and  after  remaining  there 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  more  she  went  out  on  the 
piazza,  where  she  ensconced  herself  comfortably  in  a 
large  arm-chair  to  read.  She  did  not  stay  there  very 
long,  however,  but  returned  to  the  parlor,  which,  after 
all,  was  perhaps  a  more  secluded  place  at  this  hour, 
and  better  adapted  to  purposes  of  study.  The  house- 

94 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  95 

hold  affairs  to  which.  Mrs.  Justin  attended,  and  the 
long  conversation  she  afterwards  had  with  her  farmer, 
could  have  been  attended  to  and  carried  on  as  well 
upon  a  rainy  day  as  during  this  beautiful  morning : 
and  it  may  therefore  be  said  that  Mr.  Thorne  was  the 
only  one  of  the  little  party  who  thoroughly  enjoyed 
the  atmosphere  of  sunshine,  tempered  by  the  morn- 
ing breezes,  which  threw  its  yellow  light  into  the 
dark-green  tones  of  the  dew-besprinkled  grass,  and 
upon  the  fresh  new  foliage  of  the  trees,  and  who 
breathed  with  full  appreciation  the  blossom-scented 
air. 

He  breathed  this  air  on  the  lawn,  where  the  dewy 
grass  dampened  his  boots  j  and  then  he  breathed  it 
on  the  piazza,  where  for  twenty  minutes  or  more  he 
walked  steadily  up  and  down.  Then  he  looked  into 
the  library,  where  Stratford  was  writing,  and  after 
that  he  went  into  the  parlor,  and  seeing  Miss  Gay 
there,  he  said  that  he  hoped  he  was  not  interrupting 
her  studies.  Miss  Gay  laid  the  book  in  her  lap  and 
said  she  was  not  studying,  but  reading.  Mr.  Thorne 
took  up  one  of  Miss  Gay's  books  which  lay  on  the 
table  and  asked  if  its  subject  was  a  new  study,  or 
whether  she  had  been  engaged  upon  it  while  in  col- 
lege. The  answer  to  this  question  led  to  a  number 
of  inquiries  from  Mr.  Thorne  in  regard  to  the  young 
lady's  past  studies  and  future  intentions  in  that  line. 
This  was  a  subject  in  which  he  took  a  deep  and  intel- 
ligent interest,  and  it  was  impossible  that  Gay  should 
not  also  take  an  interest  in  the  conversation  which 
followed;  but,  although  she  talked  with  willingness, 
and  even  with  some  earnestness,  her  mind  frequently 


96  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

wandered  from  the  subject  in  hand.  She  felt  that 
this  was  what  might  be  considered  a  temporary  con- 
versation, carried  on  while  expecting  something  else. 
But  she  listened  and  talked  as  well  and  as  pleasantly 
as  she  could  until  Mrs.  Justin  came  into  the  room, 
when  indeed  a  faint  shadow  of  disappointment  passed 
over  her  face  as  she  looked  up  and  saw  that  it  was 
Mrs.  Justin. 

The  rector  of  the  parish,  with  Miss  Patty,  his  seven- 
teen-year-old daughter,  came  to  dinner.  But  shortly 
after  that  meal  he  drove  away  to  make  another  paro- 
chial visit,  leaving  Miss  Patty,  at  Mrs.  Justin's  solicita- 
tion, to  be  picked  up  on  his  return.  A  four-handed 
game  of  croquet  was  now  possible,  notwithstand- 
ing Mr.  Stratford  had  driven  over  to  the  Bullripple 
farm.  As  Miss  Patty  was  a  mere  beginner  at  the 
game,  which  had  scarcely  been  played  at  all  during 
her  school-days,  it  was  necessary  that  Mrs.  Justin, 
being  the  best  player  of  the  party,  should  take  her  as 
a  partner. 

Miss  Armatt  had  no  reason  whatever  to  object  to 
Mr.  Thome  as  a  partner,  but  she  did  not  seem  to  care 
very  much  for  croquet  that  afternoon.  Mr.  Thome 
assisted  her  in  every  possible  legitimate  way,  but  he 
did  not  direct  her  course  and  manage  her  play  as  Mr. 
Stratford  had  done.  Gay,  indeed,  did  not  appear  to 
desire  this,  and  developed  a  certain  degree  of  inde- 
pendence which  had  not  been  at  all  observable  when 
she  played  before.  She  went  through  her  wickets  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  ended  in  becoming  a  rover 
before  her  partner  had  reached  the  turning-stake. 
This  was  a  very  different  style  of  play  from  that  upon 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  97 

which  Mr.  Stratford  had  so  pleasantly  and  wisely  in- 
sisted, and  the  result  was  that  Mrs.  Justin  and  Patty, 
by  keeping  their  balls  together,  won  the  game,  al- 
though their  progress  to  victory,  owing  to  the  uncer- 
tain play  of  the  younger  lady,  was  very  slow  and 
dubious. 

Mr.  Thorne  accompanied  the  ladies  to  church  the 
next  morning ;  and  in  the  afternoon  the  four  friends 
set  out  for  a  long  stroll  over  the  fields  and  hills. 
With  the  natural  bias  of  the  younger  man  towards 
the  younger  lady  of  a  party,  Arthur  Thorne  walked 
with  Miss  Gay,  following  the  other  couple  quite 
closely,  however,  as  Mrs.  Justin  seemed  desirous  of  a 
general  chat  as  they  strolled  along.  Gay  was  not  in 
very  animated  spirits,  arid,  in  fact,  seemed  a  little 
bored  by  the  walk  j  and  this,  being  soon  noticed  by 
Mrs.  Justin,  was  not  altogether  displeasing  to  that 
lady.  She  had  not  forgiven  Mr.  Crisman  for  prefer- 
ring a  yachting  expedition  to  the  society  of  his  lady- 
love, but  she  believed  it  due  to  propriety  that,  in 
some  degree,  Gay  should  feel  his  absence. 

When  they  began  the  ascent  of  a  long  grass-covered 
hill,  which  in  some  parts  of  our  country  would  be 
termed  a  little  mountain,  the  party  scattered  some- 
what, and  Gay,  who  was  very  light  of  foot,  soon 
found  herself  in  the  lead.  Stratford,  however,  who 
was  also  a  good  uphill  walker,  overtook  her  before 
very  long,  and  the  two  continued  their  way  together. 
About  this  time,  probably  owing  to  the  altitude  of 
the  hill  and  the  slightly  increased  rarefaction  of  the 
air,  Gay's  spirits  began  to  rise,  and  she  talked  in 
quite  an  animated  way  about  the  distant  scenery 
9 


98  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

which  now  showed  itself.  She  still  pressed  vigor- 
ously onward  and  upward,  Stratford  keeping  pace 
with  her ;  and  the  two,  without  knowing  that  they 
were  leaving  their  companions  out  of  sight,  passed 
over  the  brow  of  the  hill  and  down  a  slight  declivity 
on  the  other  side,  towards  an  extensive  grove  of 
sugar-maples,  which  was  one  of  the  objects  of  their 
walk.  They  reached  the  grove  and  passed  some  dis- 
tance into  its  shade,  and  then  they  rested  and  waited 
for  their  companions.  These  not  making  their  ap- 
pearance, Stratford  and  Miss  Gay  walked  slowly 
along  one  of  the  winding  wood-roads  which  led  them 
through  the  grove,  and  out  upon  an  eminence,  sur- 
mounted by  a  rail  fence  which  formed  part  of  the 
boundary  between  Mrs.  Justin's  estate  and  that  of  her 
neighbor. 

This  eminence,  Stratford  assured  his  companion, 
was  one  of  the  best  spots  in  that  part  of  the  country 
from  which  to  view  the  approaching  sunset,  and  here 
he  proposed  they  should  wait  for  Mrs.  Justin  and 
Mr.  Thome.  One  of  the  top  rails  of  the  fence  was 
very  broad  and  firm,  and  as  Gay  was  rather  tired 
from  her  climb  and  walk,  Stratford  assisted  her  to 
take  a  seat  upon  it;  and  the  rail  being  strong  enough 
to  support  them  both,  he  sat  upon  it  also. 

The  sun,  with  its  accustomed  regularity  of  move- 
ment, slowly  went  down,  but  Mrs.  Justin  and  Thorne 
did  not  come  up.  Gay  wondered  at  their  delay,  but 
she  soon  forgot  them  in  gazing  upon  the  glories  of 
yellow,  red,  and  gold  which  began  to  spread  over  the 
western  sky  reaching  upward  from  the  tender  green 
which  lay  along  the  horizon  to  the  pink  flush  which, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  99 

half  way  towards  the  zenith,  met  the  deep  overhang- 
ing blue. 

No  such  scene  as  this  was  ever  visible  from  the 
lower  country  by  Cherry  Bridge,  and  Gay  sat  and 
looked  upon  it  as  if  it  had  been  a  revelation.  Beau- 
tiful cloud-forms  glowed  in  this  rich  color  and  in  that, 
and  faded  away,  through  lilac  and  pink,  to  rose-tinted 
gray,  and  out  of  the  vast  ether  came  other  outlines 
of  clouds,  to  be  delicately  tinted  and  to  fade  away. 

The  evening  star  began  to  twinkle  through  the  dull 
golden  mists,  when  Stratford  stepped  down  from  the 
fence,  and,  saying  that  he  did  not  believe  that  the 
others  were  coming  at  all,  proposed  to  Miss  Gay  that 
they  should  re  turn  to  the  house. 

With  one  lingering  look  above  and  around  her, 
Gay  gave  her  hand  to  her  companion  and  sprang 
from  the  fence.  They  walked  rapidly  down  towards 
the  maple  grove,  and  when  they  reached  it  they  found 
that  although  the  sky  was  still  glowing  with  light, 
the  shades  of  the  grove  were  shades  indeed.  It  was 
so  dark  that  Gay  was  very  much  surprised,  and  she 
declared  that  if  she  had  been  alone  it  would  have 
been  utterly  impossible  for  her  to  find  her  way  along 
that  indistinguishable  wood-road.  But  she  was  not 
alone,  and  Mr.  Stratford  knew  the  road  well,  having 
walked  it  by  day  and  by  night.  It  was  necessary 
that  she  should  take  his  arm  to  avoid  tripping  over 
unseen  obstacles,  and  they  walked  slowly.  Gay  was 
not  the  least  afraid,  and  her  eyes  becoming  accus- 
tomed to  the  gloom  of  the  grove,  she  was  almost  as 
much  entranced  by  its  weird  and  somber  beauties  as 
she  had  been  by  the  glories  of  the  sunset. 


100  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Even  when  they  came  out  of  the  woods  and  walked 
under  the  open  sky,  they  could  not  hasten,  for  the 
shades  of  night  were  now  upon  them,  and  a  misstep 
on  the  hill-side  might  prove  unpleasant.  Slowly  they 
strolled  homeward  under  the  points  of  starlight  that 
began  to  twinkle  above  them,  and  Stratford  for  the 
most  part  talked,  and  G-ay  for  the  most  part  listened ; 
and  whatever  feelings  of  impatience,  or  disappoint- 
ment, or  boredom  she  may  have  had  during  that  day, 
or  the  one  preceding,  now  disappeared  altogether. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  they  walked  over  the  lawn 
towards  the  house,  but  Gay  felt  no  compunctions  of 
conscience  at  having  staid  out  so  late.  She  had  been 
with  Mr.  Stratford,  and  that  fact,  to  her  mind,  gave 
to  the  proceeding  all  the  sanction  that  it  needed. 

Mrs.  Justin  and  Arthur  Thorne  had  taken  a  path 
through  the  maple  grove  which  led  them  to  a  point 
from  which  the  rail  fence  where  Stratford  and  Miss 
Gay  had  seated  themselves  was  not  visible.  Seeing 
nothing  of  their  companions,  they  had  returned  the 
way  they  came,  and  reached  the  house  about  the  time 
that  the  sunset  began  to  fade. 

When  Miss  Gay  and  Stratford  arrived,  Mrs.  Justin 
made  no  remarks  concerning  the  lateness  of  the  hour, 
for  she  did  not  consider  that  she  had  a  right  to  scold 
grown-up  people,  one  of  whom  was  engaged  to  be 
married.  But  she  remembered  that  when  Mr.  Cris- 
man  and  Gay  had  walked  together,  they  had  not  kept 
supper  waiting. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Thorne  returned  to  the  city,  and 
exchanged  the  hues  of  forest  and  field  for  the  lugu- 
brious colors  of  his  apartments.  But  into  the  midst  of 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAX.  101 

those  dull  greens  and  yellows,  those  clay-reds  and  weak 
blues,  he  brought  the  delicate  flush  on  a  young  girl's 
cheek,  the  deep  blue  of  her  large  eyes,  the  pink  of 
her  lips,  and  the  sunny  brownness  of  her  hair.  As  he 
meditatively  leaned  back  against  the  long  thin  rods 
which  formed  the  back  of  his  antique  chair,  these 
colors  were  very  forcibly  brought  out  by  the  somber 
propriety  of  his  surroundings. 

After  breakfast  on  that  morning  Miss  Gay  did  not 
wander  from  parlor  to  piazza  to  find  a  suitable 
place  in  which  to  pursue  her  studies.  She  carried  the 
ancient  atlas  and  the  books  directly  to  the  place 
where  she  had  last  looked  over  them  with  Mr.  Strat- 
ford, and  in  ten  minutes  he  came  there  and  joined 
her.  The  atlas  and  the  books  were  opened,  and  again 
they  followed  the  meandering  streams  of  the  springs 
of  literature.  It  was  not  very  long  before  Mrs.  Jus- 
tin made  one  of  the  party,  and  she  interested  herself 
to  a  considerable  degree  in  their  investigations ;  but 
household  affairs  interfered  with  the  permanence  of 
her  stay,  and  Gay  was  able  to  appreciate  the  immense 
advantages  of  study  and  companionship  with  a  kindly 
sympathetic  though  dominant  mind  over  the  lonely 
journeys  which  she  had  often  made  into  the  region  of 
intellectual  investigation. 

During  the  next  five  days,  Mrs.  People  was  still 
absent  from  the  Bullripple  farm,  and  Mr.  Stratford 
remained  at  the  mansion  of  Mrs.  Justin.  On  any  of 
these  days,  when  Mrs.  Justin  had  the  company  of 
either  Stratford  or  Gay,  she  generally  had  that  of 
both  of  them.  Sometimes  she  did  not  find  them  at 
all,  for  they  seemed  to  be  subject  to  sudden  determi- 


102  THE  HUNDREDTH   MAN. 

nations  to  row  or  stroll.  They  did  not  treat  her  dis- 
courteously on  these  occasions,  for  they  invariably 
asked  her  to  accompany  them  if  she  were  anywhere 
about;  but  it  was  astonishing  to  herself  how  seldom 
she  happened  to  be  about  at  the  right  moment  for  an 
invitation. 

At  last  Mrs.  Justin  could  endure  this  state  of  things 
no  longer,  and  determined  to  speak.  It  was  not 
necessary  to  ask  anything  of  Gay,  for  the  estimation 
in  which  that  young  lady  held  Mr.  Stratford  not 
only  grew  and  brightened,  as  the  day  grows  and 
brightens  after  the  rising  of  the  sun,  but  was  quite 
as  clear  and  apparent  to  Mrs.  Justin  as  any  light  of 
day  could  be.  Against  the  brightness  of  this  esteem 
there  never  rose  a  cloud  of  obscuring  vapor  from  the 
Crismanic  fires  which  Mrs.  Justin  firmly  believed  still 
glowed  deep  down  in  the  soul  of  Gay  Armatt.  This 
absence  of  even  transient  obscuration  troubled  much 
the  mind  of  Mrs.  Justin,  for  even  the  fires  of  the 
strongest  volcano  must  go  out  if  the  vents  are  per- 
manently stopped. 

As  it  was  not  needed  to  question  Gay,  who  spoke 
so  often  and  so  freely  of  Mr.  Stratford,  it  would  be 
also  a  very  delicate  and  difficult  matter  to  advise  her ; 
and  it  was  for  these  reasons  that  Mrs.  Justin  decided 
to  speak  to  Stratford.  She  would  have  a  plain  talk 
with  him,  and  tell  him  all  her  mind.  With  this  object 
she  invited  him  to  drive  her  to  the  village  in  his 
buggy.  For  an  earnest  tete-a-tete  there  are  few 
places  better  than  a  buggy.  Interruption  is  scarcely 
probable  unless  a  wheel  comes  off. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  103 

When  they  were  well  on  the  road,  Mrs.  Justin 
plunged  into  the  subject.  "Do  you  appreciate,"  she 
said,  "the  influence  which  your  constant  companion- 
ship is  having  upon  Gay  Armatt  ?  " 

"  What  is  the  influence?"  asked  Stratford. 

"  It  is  the  influence  of  a  man  who  completely  absorbs 
the  attention  and  interest  of  a  young  woman.  I  be- 
lieve that  when  Gay  is  not  reading,  or  walking,  or 
talking  with  you,  she  mentally  places  you  before  her 
so  that  she  can  follow  you  in  her  thoughts.  I  know 
that  she  does  that  when  she  is  with  me,  for  she  is 
satisfied  to  talk  of  nothing  but  you.  I  believe  at  this 
moment  she  thinks  more  of  you,  and  better  of  you, 
than  of  any  man  in  the  world." 

u  And  of  this  you  do  not  approve,"  he  said,  "there 
being  no  just  foundation  for  such  an  opinion  ?  " 

11  On  the  contrary,"  said  Mrs.  Justin  vehemently, 
"  there  is  so  much  foundation  that  I  have  sometimes 
almost  wished  that  you  could  be  suddenly  turned  into 
the  most  ordinary  of  men.  It  is  the  fact  that  you 
do  possess  those  qualities  which  must  attract  the 
admiration  and  regard  of  a  girl  like  Gay  that  gives 
you  your  influence  over  her." 

"  And  why  should  not  that  influence  be  exerted  f  " 
asked  Stratford. 

"You  know  very  well,"  was  the  quick  answer. 
"If  this  influence  does  not  cease,  it  will  end  in 
the  complete  alienation  of  Mr.  Crisman  and  Gay 
Armatt." 

"And  that,"  said  Stratford,  "is  exactly  what  I 
want  to  bring  about." 


104  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mrs.  Justin  started,  and  turning  suddenly  towards 
her  companion,  she  looked  at  him  with  wide-open 
eyes,  but  said  not  a  word. 

"  You  have  spoken  plainly  to  me,  Mrs.  Justin,'7 
continued  Stratford,  u  and  I  am  going  to  speak  quite 
as  plainly  to  you.  I  consider  Gay  Armatt  a  phenom- 
enally fine  girl.  From  what  you  had  told  me,  I  ex- 
pected to  find  her  a  most  interesting  student,  but  I 
did  not  expect  to  find  her  an  independent  thinker, 
with  a  sensitive  susceptibility  to  inspirations  such  as 
I  have  not  known  before,  and  a  mind  as  fine  and 
noble  as  the  objects  it  fixes  itself  upon.  I  had 
scarcely  known  this  girl  before  I  found  out  that  she 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  man  who  was  utterly 
unworthy  of  her  and  unfit  for  her,  and  whose  union 
with  her  would  put  an  end  to  all  her  purposes  and 
aspirations,  and  finish  by  degrading  her,  as  nearly  as 
such  a  thing  is  possible,  to  his  level." 

"  I  do  not  believe  it ! v  exclaimed  Mrs.  Justin. 
"  She  would  elevate  him." 

"  Excuse  me/'  said  Stratford,  "  but  you  are  entirely 
wrong.  He  is  not  capable  of  being  elevated;  and  if 
he  were,  he  has  no  desire  to  be  elevated.  His  mar- 
riage with  Gay  Armatt  would  put  an  absolute  end  to 
what  we  now  look  upon  as  her  career.  I  know  this, 
and  I  do  not  see  how  you  can  help  knowing  it." 

"I  must  admit,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "that  I  have 
feared  this,  and  that  I  have  spent  hours  in  thinking 
about  it.  But  I  have  a  better  opinion  of  Mr.  Cris- 
man  than  you  have ;  I  have  more  faith  in  Gay  than 
you  have  ;  and  I  trust  to  her  power  over  him.  But 
this  should  not  be  the  question.  Gay  has  promised 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  105 

Mr.  Crisman  to  marry  him,  and,  to  my  mind,  this  is 
just  the  same  as  if  these  two  persons  were  already 
married.  To  do  anything  which  would  induce  her 
to  break  this  engagement  is  positively  and  absolutely 
wicked." 

"  I  cannot  agree  with  you,"  said  Stratford.  "  An 
engagement  is  not  the  same  as  a  marriage." 

"  Mr.  Stratford,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  it  is  of  no  use 
for  us  to  argue  this  question.  All  that  we  should  con- 
sider is  that  these  two  young  people  love  each  other 
and  desire  to  be  man  and  wife ;  and  you  have  no 
right  to  come  between  them." 

"How  did  Miss  Armatt  happen  to  be  engaged  to 
Crisman?"  asked  Stratford.  "Was  he  not  her  first 
lover  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Justin  j  "  the  first  and  only  one." 

"  I  thought  so,"  he  said,  "  and  that  explains  the 
situation  exactly.  As  I  said  before,  she  is  a  girl  of 
sensitive  susceptibility;  he  is  the  first  handsome 
young  fellow  who  made  love  to  her,  and  she  accepted 
him.  In  some  respects  her  character  is  unformed, 
but  she  ought  not  to  be  made  to  suffer  on  that  ac- 
count." 

"Your  kindly  disposition  is  as  phenomenal  as  Gay's 
mind,"  said  Mrs.  Justin. 

Stratford  made  no  answer  to  this,  nor  did  he  smile. 

"Mrs.  Justin,"  he  said,  "you  have  helped  this 
young  girl  to  become  what  she  is,  and  have  put  her 
in  a  position  from  which  she  can  go  on,  and  take  her 
place  among  the  eminent  men  and  women  of  her  day. 
Now,  I  intend  to  save  her  from  losing  all  you  gave 
her.  You  expert  her  to  become  one  of  the  brightest 


106  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

jewels  in  your  crown.  I  intend  to  prevent  her  from 
dropping  from  that  crown  and  being  trampled  in  the 
mud." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "that  you 
deliberately  propose  to  break  off  this  engagement?" 

"  If  it  shall  be  possible,"  said  Stratford,  "  I  intend 
to  alienate  Miss  Armatt's  affections  from  Crisman  by 
making  her  understand  the  value  of  the  companion- 
ship of  better  men  than  he  is.  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  I  consider  myself  a  much  better  man  than 
he  is." 

"A  noble  undertaking!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Justin. 
"  And  when  you  have  made  her  cast  him  off,  you  will 
kindly  marry  her  yourself  ! " 

"  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  Stratford. 
"  I  knew  you  would  think  that,  and  perhaps  say  it, 
but  you  are  mistaken.  Positively,  I  shall  not  marry 
her." 

"  And  what  will  you  do  with  her,"  asked  Mrs.  Jus- 
tin, "  when  you  have  torn  her  affections  from  her 
lover,  and  fixed  them  on  yourself?  Will  you  cast 
her,  heart-broken,  out  upon  the  world?" 

"  Your  language  is  very  strong,  Mrs.  Justin,  and 
you  do  injustice  to  my  motives.  Miss  Armatt  is  not 
one  to  be  thrown  out  on  the  world,  as  you  put  it. 
She  is  a  young  woman  whom  to  win  would  be  an 
ambition  worthy  the  best  man  of  our  day.  Once 
freed  from  this  absolutely  unsuitable  engagement, 
into  which  she  entered  because  her  young  soul  knew 
so  little  about  men,  she  will  be  free  to  marry  a  man 
who  is  worthy  of  her,  and  there  is  no  danger  but  that 
man  will  appear." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  107 

"  But,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  he  will  appear  instantly.  It  may  be  a  year  or 
two  before  she  meets  the  man  you  think  she  ought 
to  marry.  Is  she  to  be  left  unprotected  from  other 
Crismans  all  this  time  ?  Or  do  you  intend  to  carry 
her  over  the  gap  ?  " 

"  I  shall  carry  her  over  the  gap/'  said  Stratford. 

Mrs.  Justin  laughed  outright,  but  not  in  merri- 
ment. "  What  an  utter  piece  of  absurdity ! n  she 
exclaimed.  "  Why,  Mr.  Stratford/'  she  added  with 
much  earnestness,  "  don't  you  know  enough  of  men's 
hearts  and  women's  hearts  to  understand  that  if  you 
should  win  Gay  from  Crisman,  and  then  desire  to 
give  her  up  to  another  man,  which  I  do  not  in  the  least 
believe  you  would  desire,  that  you  could  not  do  it? 
Cannot  you  see,  as  plainly  as  you  see  the  road  before 
you,  that  Gay's  affections  would  by  that  time  be  so 
firmly  fixed  upon  you  that  she  would  not  be  given  up? 
Giving  up  would  be  impossible  for  either  of  you. 
Now,  don't  you  think  you  will  be  much  more  true  to 
yourself,  should  you  determine  to  persevere  in  carry- 
ing out  this  plan,  which  I  call  an  iniquitous  one, 
frankly  to  admit  that  if  you  get  Gay  Armatt  away 
from  Mr.  Crisman,  you  will  marry  her  yourself?" 

"I  intend  to  carry  out  my  plan,"  said  Stratford, 
"and  I  shall  not  marry  Miss  Armatt." 

"Stuff  and  nonsense  ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Justin;  and 
as  they  were  now  entering  the  village,  the  conversa- 
tion ceased. 

As  they  were  driving  homeward,  Stratford  said: 
"You  know  very  well,  Mrs.  Justin,  that  I  have  the 
highest  possible  regard  for  what  you  think  and  say; 


108  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

but,  in  this  case,  even  your  opinion  cannot  turn  me 
from  my  determination  to  save  this  young  girl,  if  I 
can,  and  give  her  a  chance  to  make  her  life  what  it 
ought  to  be.  But,  now  that  I  know  that  you  disap- 
prove of  what  I  am  doing,  I  do  not  think  it  is  right 
that  I  should  remain  at  your  house.  But  you  must 
not  suppose  that  I  am  going  away  with  any  feeling 
of  resentment.  I  know  you  so  well  that  nothing  you 
have  said  surprises  me  j  and,  indeed,  looking  npon 
you  as  yourself,  I  am  not  sure  that  I  should  be  sat- 
isfied should  you  entertain  any  opinions  on  this  mat- 
ter other  than  those  you  have  expressed  to  me." 

" I  might  have  expressed  them  more  gently,"  said 
she  5  "but,  indeed,  Mr.  Stratford,  this  is  a  matter 
which  I  feel  very  deeply.  I  suppose,  of  course,  that, 
remembering  what  you  have  said,  I  ought  not  to  wish 
yon  to  stay  with  us  while  G-ay  is  here,  but  it  is  to  me 
one  of  the  saddest  features  of  the  whole  aifair  that 
there  should  be  any  objection  to  your  staying  in  my 
house." 

"  I  thank  you  most  kindly  for  that,"  said  Stratford. 

"But  you  can't  go  to  the  farm-house,"  she  said. 
"  Mrs.  People  has  not  returned,  and  there  is  no  one  to 
take  care  of  you." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  do  very  well,"  said  he.  "  Now  that 
Thorne  has  gone,  I  shall  not  mind  being  there  with- 
out Mrs.  People.  But  I  suppose  she  will  return  in  a 
few  days ;  and,  in  any  case,  I  shall  make  a  visit  to  the 
city  next  week." 

Nothing  was  said  for  some  minutes,  and  then  Mrs. 
Justin  exclaimed:  "I  do  wish,  Mr.  Stratford,  that 
you  could  see  this  affair  as  I  see  it !  If  you  could,  I 
am  sure  you  would  instantly  abandon  your  purpose." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  109 

"  How  different  we  are/'  said  Stratford.  "  I  hope, 
and  what  is  more,  I  expect,  that  the  day  will  come 
when  you  will  say,  although  you  may  not  even  then 
believe,  that  my  methods  were  proper,  that  their  re- 
sult has  been  most  happy." 

"  You  may  think/7  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  and  you  have 
reason  for  it,  that  you  are  a  man  who  is  never  turned 
from  his  purpose.  You  may  be  very  steadfast  in  your 
present  purpose  of  merely  carrying  Gay  over  that 
gap,  but  you  will  be  turned  from  it." 

"  By  whom  ?"  asked  Stratford. 

"  By  Gay.     You  will  marry  her." 

WHEN  Mr.  Stratford  took  leave  of  the  ladies  that 
afternoon,  Gay  Armatt  did  not  feel  so  sorry  as  she 
would  have  felt  if  she  had  not  known  that  Mr.  Cris- 
man  was  coming  in  the  evening  train.  She  was  a 
woman  now,  and  all  sorts  of  young  and  half -fledged 
sentiments  were  fluttering  into  her  soul,  some  flying 
restlessly  about  and  then  out  again,  and  some  settling 
first  here  and  then  there,  as  if  very  uncertain  whether 
they  ought  to  stay  or  not.  But  one  little  sentiment 
nestled  down  as  if  it  felt  itself  at  home,  and  it  made 
Gay  feel  that  while  Mr.  Crisman  was  with  her  it  was 
just  as  well  that  Mr.  Stratford  should  be  away. 
There  was  no  reason  connected  with  this  sentiment. 
It  was  nothing  but  a  little  partly  feathered  thing  that 
did  not  know  itself  where  it  had  come  from.  It  found 
Gay's  soul  a  very  quiet  and  pleasant  place  in  which 
to  nestle,  for  the  young  lady  did  not  know  that  Mr. 
Stratford  was  not  coming  to  the  house  again  while 
she  was  there. 
10 


CHAPTER  IX 

HEN  Mr.  Enoch  Bullripple  found 
himself  with  the  Vatoldi  establish- 
ment upon  his  hands j  with  John 
People  steaming  southward  down 
the  coast  5  and  an  unknown  proprie- 
tor far  away  in  some  hazy  distance, 
he  rubbed  those  horny  hands  with 
much  satisfaction.  He  had  never  managed  a  restau- 
rant, and  under  ordinary  circumstances  he  would  not 
have  considered  himself  competent  to  undertake  such 
responsibility;  but  this  was  a  peculiar  case,  and 
Enoch  believed  himself  fully  able  to  treat  it  in  the 
peculiar  fashion  which  he  had  in  view.  He  was  a 
shrewd,  quick-witted  man,  and  in  the  course  of  his 
varied  life  had  adapted  himself  to  a  great  many  out- 
of-the-way  circumstances. 

He  had  but  a  single  object  in  this  scheme  of  get- 
ting control  of  Vatoldi's,  and  that  was  to  discover  the 
owner,  the  man  behind  the  scenes.  That  this  owner 
was  determined  not  to  come  forward  into  public 
view  was  plain  enough,  for  if  anything  would  have 
brought  him  forward,  it  would  have  been  the  recent 
disturbance  of  his  business.  That  for  some  reason 
John  was  determined  not  to  reveal  the  identity  of 
this  person  was  equally  plain. 

no 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  Ill 

That  John  himself  was  at  the  head  of  affairs  was  a 
supposition  well  enough  suited  to  the  public  mind, 
but  Mr.  Bullripple's  mind  would  not  entertain  it  for 
a  moment.  In  the  first  place,  he  knew  that  his  nephew 
had  not  the  capital  nor  the  interest  to  control  such  a 
business,  and  that  he  did  not  enjoy  the  income  nor  the 
independence  which  it  would  have  given  him;  and, 
more  than  this,  he  did  not  believe  that  John  had  the 
ability  to  plan  and  carry  on  the  admirable  organiza- 
tion which  had  given  Vatoldi's  its  reputation  and  its 
success.  That  John  had  abilities  of  a  high  order,  his 
uncle  did  not  doubt,  but  these,  in  Enoch's  belief,  were 
the  abilities  to  do  well  what  he  was  told  to  do.  If  he 
could  find  out  the  man  who  told  his  nephew  what  he 
was  to  do,  and  who  rewarded  him  so  indifferently  for 
doing  it,  he  did  not  doubt  but  he  could  make  a  very 
considerable  revolution  in  the  state  of  affairs,  and  one 
which  would  result  to  John's  advantage.  He  had  his 
nephew's  welfare  very  much  at  heart,  and  he  did  not 
share  his  sister's  opinion  that  the  young  man  should 
return  to  them  and  become  a  farmer.  From  his  own 
experience  and  observation  he  believed  that  there  was 
more  money  in  restaurant-keeping  than  in  farming. 

"When  Mrs.  People  heard  that  her  son  had  gone  off 
on  a  sea  trip,  she  was  glad  of  it,  of  course,  because 
she  believed  he  needed  such  a  trip,  but  she  was  very 
much  disturbed  that  he  had  not  taken  leave  of  her. 
Of  the  means  employed  to  send  John  away  Enoch 
told  her  nothing.  She  was  not  a  person  who  could 
prevent  the  outside  world  from  sharing  in  any  infor- 
mation which  she  possessed,  and  besides,  she  would 
have  been  very  much  troubled,  and,  therefore,  might 


112  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

have  very  much  interfered  with  her  brother's  plans 
had  she  known  that  John  had  gone  off  against  his 
will. 

"  You  see,  Hannah,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple,  when  he 
communicated  the  fact  of  John's  departure,  "  there 
wasn't  no  time  for  good-byes.  The  steamer  started 
off  sooner  than  he  expected,  and  it  was  lucky  I  had 
packed  his  valise  for  him  and  sent  it  down.  But  now 
he's  off  all  right,  with  the  best  kind  of  weather,  and 
he'll  be  back  in  about  a  week,  well  set  up  with  good 
sea  air.  And  what's  more,  if  he's  got  his  wits  about 
him,  he  ought  to  do  a  little  profitable  tradin'  down 
there,  if  it's  nothin'  but  early  peaches." 

"  Does  Mr.  Vatoldi  know  he  has  gone?"  asked  Mrs. 
People. 

"  No,  he  don't,"  said  Enoch.  "  And  if  he  wants  to 
know  anythin'  about  it,  let  him  come  and  ask  me ; 
that's  all  he's  got  to  do  And  now,  Hannah,'7  con- 
tinued Mr.  Bullripple,  "as  long  as  you  and  me  has 
got  charge  here,  there's  goin'  to  be  a  change  in  this 
restaurant.  Things  is  goin'  to  be  twisted  around,  and 
made  very  different  from  what  they  was  before." 

"  What's  the  good  of  twistin'  'em  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
People.  "I'm  sure  John's  ways  was  all  very  good 
ways." 

"  That  was  all  jus'  so,"  replied  her  brother,  "  when 
the  business  was  on  its  legs.  But  now  that  it's  flat 
on  its  back  we've  got  to  put  a  pillow  under  its  head, 
and  do  a  lot  of  things  to  make  it  comfortable.  I  don't 
suppose  there'll  be  more  customers  than  you  and  me 
can  manage  to  do  for,  and  if  we  jus'  keep  ourselves  bold 
and  chipper,  and  let  people  see  that  we're  afraid  of  no- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  113 

body,  and  that  we're  goin'  to  do  what  we  please  with- 
out carin'  what  anybody  thinks  about  it,  it  won't  be 
long  before  them  old  waiters  will  git  tired  howlin'  for 
their  coat-tails,  and  they'll  all  be  beggin'  to  be  took 
back.  And  when  John  comes  home  we  can  jus'  hand 
over  the  place  to  him,  and  let  him  run  it  along  as  he 
used  to." 

"But  I  should  think  Mr.  Vatoldi  would  have  some- 
thin'  to  say  to  all  this,"  said  Mrs.  People. 

"  Very  good,"  replied  her  brother ;  "  and  all  he's 
got  to  do  is  to  come  and  say  it." 

Vatoldi's  was  closed  early  that  evening,  and  Mr. 
Bullripple  went  to  work  to  inaugurate  the  new  sys- 
tem by  which  the  establishment  was  to  be  conducted. 
By  the  end  of  the  following  day  the  place  was  in 
pretty  good  running  order.  All  the  recently  engaged 
waiters,  many  of  whom  showed  signs  of  faint-hearted- 
ness  and  might  be  at  any  time  frightened  away  by 
the  boycotters,  were  discharged,  and  their  places 
were  supplied  by  a  body  of  men  whose  training  had 
been  received  at  what  is  known  as  the  cheap  Ameri- 
can restaurant. 

If  there  remained  extant  anything  of  the  spirit 
which  used  to  animate  the  volunteer  firemen  of  our 
city,  the  "  Jakeys  "  and  the  "  Sykeses  "  who  "  ran  with 
the  machine,"  and  considered  that  banging  each  other 
over  the  head  with  their  brass  horns  was  one  of  the 
necessary  accompaniments  of  a  conflagration,  it  re- 
mained in  these  men.  With  a  bold,  undaunted  air 
they  strolled  up  and  down  the  rows  of  tables  with 
the  peculiar  intrepidity  of  shuffle  known  only  to 
waiters  of  this  class.  In  strong,  untrammeled  tones 


114  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

they  rang  out  the  orders  of  the  customers,  sounding 
startling  changes,  brought  about  by  continued  repeti- 
tion, upon  the  names  of  standard  dishes  and  viands, 
and  tossing  to  each  diner  his  pasteboard  check  with 
an  accuracy  of  aim  which  was  sure  to  deposit  it  upon 
some  retentive  article  of  food. 

These  men  had  never  worn  dress-coats,  and  the 
army  and  navy  would  have  to  march  over  their  dead 
bodies  before  they  could  be  made  to  wear  them.  If 
a  strike  were  on  foot  in  which  they  sympathized,  not 
a  fallen  spoon  would  they  pick  up  from  the  floor 
until  the  matter  in  dispute  had  been  settled ;  but  in 
a  strike  like  this  at  Vatoldi's  they  could  see  no  sense, 
and  if  a  boycotter  had  attempted  to  tamper  with  one 
of  them,  he  might  have  imagined  that  the  volunteer 
fire  department  had  been  revived,  and  that  he  and 
the  waiter  ran  with  rival  companies. 

The  class  of  restaurant  to  which  these  men  be- 
longed was  a  very  familiar  one  to  Mr.  Bullripple. 
When  he  was  in  business  in  the  city  he  took  his 
meals  in  such  places,  and  many  of  their  prominent 
features  were  fixed  in  his  memory.  In  its  palmy 
days,  when  everything  was  flowing  smoothly  at  Va- 
toldi's, Enoch  would  never  have  advised  his  nephew 
to  adopt  any  of  these  familiar  features;  but  now 
there  had  been  a  great  change  in  the  conditions  of 
the  place,  and  the  old  man  seemed  to  think  it  neces- 
sary to  act  in  harmony  with  this  fact  j  and  he  there- 
fore set  about  making  everything  as  different  as  pos- 
sible from  what  it  used  to  be.  Placards  were  hung 
on  the  walls  on  which  prominent  articles  of  the 
ordinary  bill  of  fare  were  inscribed  in  large  letters 
of  black  and  red. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  115 

Mrs.  People  was  very  proud  of  her  ability  in  the 
manufacture  of  various  kinds  of  pie,  and  as  soon  as 
she  found  she  could  do  what  she  pleased  in  the  kitchen, 
she  went  to  work  with  radiant  delight  to  make  and 
bake  pies.  Many  of  the  largest  placards  were  em- 
blazoned with  the  legend,  "Home-made  pies/'  fol- 
lowed by  an  enumeration  of  varieties,  and  the  price 
per  slice.  A  table  near  the  door  was  covered  with 
cans,  jars,  and  bottles,  selected  from  the  storeroom 
on  account  of  the  brightness  of  their  labels;  and  on 
an  adjoining  table  —  there  were  plenty  of  them  to  spare 
just  now  —  were  specimens  of  cheese,  pastry,  fruit 
cakes,  etc.,  all  covered  with  gauze  netting  to  keep  off 
the  flies.  In  the  two  large  show  windows,  which  had 
never  before  contained  anything  but  some  luxuriant 
and  handsome  specimens  of  tropical  plants  in  aesthet- 
ically decorated  jars,  now  appeared  some  of  the  afore- 
mentioned placards,  together  with  plates  of  uncooked 
chops  or  steaks,  a  box  of  live  crabs  packed  in  sea- 
weed, a  few  particularly  resplendent  tin  cans,  with 
other  objects  of  the  sort  adapted  to  catch  the  eye  of 
the  passer-by. 

When  the  boycotters  discovered  John's  absence, 
and  noticed  the  great  alteration  in  the  aspect  of  Va- 
toldi's,  they  naturally  supposed  that  the  place  had 
changed  hands,  and  that  in  this  way  their  oppressors 
had  eluded  the  punishment  which  was  being  dealt  out 
to  them.  But  a  few  inquiries  made  to  Mr.  Bullripple 
by  an  emissary  soon  dispelled  this  notion,  and  they 
found  that  Mr.  People  was  only  temporarily  absent, 
and  that  the  establishment  had  not  been  sold,  and 
that  they  could  expect  no  favors  from  the  parties  in 


116  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

charge.  They  therefore  continued  their  annoyances, 
and  endeavored,  by  every  method  with  which  they 
did  not  expect  police  interference,  to  create  a  public 
feeling  in  favor  of  themselves,  and  against  the  heel- 
grinding  practiced  in  the  den  called  Vatoldi's. 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  and  Mrs.  People  first  appeared 
at  Vatoldi's,  that  constant  customer,  J.  Weatherby 
Stull,  met  them  as  he  would  have  met  any  man  or 
woman  whom,  years  ago,  he  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  occasionally  seeing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cherry 
Bridge,  where  he  then  lived.  He  spoke  to  them  with 
a  good-natured  condescension,  into  which  he  infused 
enough  cold  dignity  to  show  them  the  immense  dis- 
tance between  their  station  and  his  own.  He  asked 
a  few  questions  in  regard  to  crops,  etc.,  and  then 
ordered  his  meal,  and  took  out  his  newspaper.  When 
he  first  discovered  John's  absence  from  his  accus- 
tomed post,  he  was  surprised  and  uneasy;  and  al- 
though he  was  careful  not  to  show  any  interest  in  the 
matter,  he  could  not  avoid  asking  Mr.  Bullripple 
what  had  become  of  his  nephew,  adding  that  he  was 
so  accustomed  to  seeing  him  there  that  the  place  ap- 
peared odd  without  him. 

Enoch  replied  that  John  had  gone  away  to  make 
arrangements  for  regular  supplies  from  the  South, 
and  that  he  would  not  be  back  for  several  days,  per- 
haps a  week. 

"  But  that  won't  hender  this  place  from  goin'  all 
right,"  added  Mr.  Bullripple.  "John's  mother  and 
me  will  run  the  place,  and  you  can  always  git  your 
breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper  here,  Mr.  Stull,  with 
somethin'  to  eat  between  meals,  if  you  want  it." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  117 

There  was  not  a  more  astounded  person  in  the  city 
of  New  York  than  the  proprietor  of  Vatoldi's  when 
he  received  this  information.  A  hundred  questions 
rushed  towards  his  tongue,  but  he  could  ask  none  of 
them.  His  long-continued  habit  of  guarded  non-in- 
terest when  performing  his  part  of  a  regular  patron 
of  the  establishment  had  made  him  very  prudent,  and 
he  could  not  help  feeling  that  more  than  ordinary 
caution  would  be  required  in  dealing  with  a  sharp- 
witted  old  man  like  Enoch  Bullripple.  So  he  con- 
tented himself  with  some  simple  remark,  paid  his 
bill,  and  went  away. 

But  his  way  was  not  a  quiet  one.  His  mind  was 
troubled  and  tossed  by  conjectures  regarding  John's 
amazing  stupidity  at  leaving  his  post,  and,  without 
consultation  with  himself,  putting  VatoldPs  in  charge 
of  those  two  country  clodhoppers.  To  be  sure,  John 
had  spoken  to  him  about  supplies  from  the  South, 
but  nothing  had  been  said  which  could  possibly  lead 
him  to  suppose  that  that  young  man  would  actually 
leave  the  city  for  several  days,  or  perhaps  a  week. 
Such  idiocy,  such  criminal  insubordination,  he  had 
never  heard  of  !  He  could  not  understand  it,  and  no 
supposition  in  regard  to  the  matter  which  he  brought 
before  his  reasoning  powers  was  able  to  satisfy  them. 

But  this  state  of  mind  was  oil-smoothed  tranquillity 
compared  to  the  typhoon  of  emotions  which  swept 
through  him  when  he  perceived  the  changes  which 
Mr.  Bullripple  had  wrought  in  Vatoldi's  —  that  ideal 
restaurant,  which  was  at  once  his  pride,  his  profit,  and 
his  closet  skeleton.  When  he  saw  the  firemen -like 
waiters  striding  up  and  down  among  his  tables; 


118  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

when  he  saw  the  black-and-red-lettered  placards, 
bearing  the  words,  "  Clam  Chowder,"  "  Golden  Buck," 
"  A  Fry  in  a  Box,"  "  A  Stew  in  a  Pail "  ;  but  partic- 
ularly when  he  saw  the  sign,  "  Home-made  Pies,  Five 
Cents  a  Slice,"  did  the  blood  of  Mr.  Stull  run  in  his 
veins  like  trickling  streams  from  a  glacier.  He  was 
so  much  astonished  by  the  aspect  of  the  place  that  he 
forgot  to  sit  down,  and  stood  almost  motionless  at 
the  end  of  a  table,  until  one  of  the  new  waiters  strode 
up  to  him,  and  in  a  correspondingly  strident  voice 
inquired,  "  Have  ye  give  yer  order  ?  " 

For  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Stull  felt  as  if  his  whole 
nature  demanded  that  he  should  rise  up  and  assert 
himself;  that  then  and  there  he  should  announce  that 
he,  J.  Weatherby  Stull,  was  lord  and  king  of  this 
establishment,  and  thereupon  drive  out  the  rowdy 
waiters,  pack  off  to  their  homes  the  execrable  Bull- 
ripple  and  his  sister,  tear  down  those  vile  placards, 
and,  if  necessary,  shut  up  the  place  until  the  time 
should  come  when  it  could  be  restored  to  its  former 
high  position. 

But  he  did  not  rise  and  speak.  Even  this  soul- 
harrowing  desecration  could  not  give  enough  courage 
to  this  bank  president,  to  this  owner  of  the  highest- 
priced  pew,  to  this  dignified  condescender  in  society 
to  avow  to  the  world  that,  besides  all  this,  he  was  a 
restaurant-keeper,  and  that  it  was  the  income  from 
the  sale  of  beefsteaks  and  mutton  chops,  tea,  coffee, 
and  ice-cream  that  had  enabled  him  to  establish  the 
bank,  to  hire  the  pew,  and  to  reach  that  high  position 
in  society  from  which  he  was  accustomed  to  conde- 
scend. No,  he  could  not  do  it.  For  too  many  years 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  119 

had  he  kept  this  vulgar  source  of  wealth  concealed 
from  the  public  eye  to  allow  it  now  to  appear  and 
stain  with  its  gravies  and  its  soups  that  unblemished 
eminence  on  which  he  believed  himself  to  stand. 

There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  sit  dumb 
and  see  all  this  ruinous  profanation  of  Vatoldi's  with- 
out lifting  a  finger  to  prevent  it.  But  if  ever  the 
time  came  when  he  could  grind  into  dust  the  heart 
and  fortunes  of  that  rascally  old  farmer  and  his 
nephew,  to  whose  treachery  the  present  state  of  affairs 
was  due,  Stull  swore  to  himself  that  with  a  firm  and 
rapid  hand  he  would  grind. 

He  could  not  eat  the  meal  he  had  ordered,  and 
when  he  had  sat  over  it  long  enough,  he  went  up  to 
the  desk  behind  which  Mr.  Bullripple  stood.  As  a 
well-known  and  regular  customer,  Mr.  Stull  thought 
he  might  speak  without  exciting  suspicion. 

"You  have  made  great  changes  here,  Mr.  Bull- 
ripple,"  he  said.  "  I  have  been  a  patron  of  this  estab- 
lishment for  some  years,  and  I  have  never  seen  any- 
thing like  this  before.  I  am  not  accustomed  to  being 
waited  upon  by  men  of  this  class,  and  I  do  not  like 
to  sit  in  a  room  surrounded  by  such  placards  as  I 
see  upon  these  walls.  The  place  has  fallen  very  much 
from  its  former  condition,  which  was  highly  credit- 
able to  its  managers  and  its  proprietors.  Was  it  your 
nephew  who  decided  to  make  these  changes  ?  " 

"  Now,  look  here,  Mr.  Stull,"  said  Enoch,  leaning 
forward  on  the  desk,  and  speaking  in  a  conciliatory 
tone  of  voice,  "  John  hasn't  got  nothin'  to  do  with  all 
this.  John's  away  on  business,  and  till  he  comes 
back,  I'll  have  to  run  the  consarn.  I've  got  head 


120  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

enough  on  my  shoulders,  Mr.  Stull,  to  know  that  a 
place  that's  bein'  boycotted  can't  be  run  like  a  place 
that  everybody's  got  good  words  and  good  money 
for.  Now,  till  John  gits  home  I'm  goin'  to  let  them 
strikin'  waiters  see  that  neither  them  nor  their 
coat-tails  is  needed  here.  And  let  me  give  you  a 
piece  of  advice,  Mr.  Stull.  It's  easy  enough  to  see 
that  the  kind  of  restaurant  I'm  goin'  to  run  isn't 
suited  to  you  and  your  likin's,  and,  if  I  was  you,  I'd 
keep  away  for  a  time.  There's  other  restaurants  that 
would  suit  you  better,  and  if  things  ever  gits  round 
to  the  way  they  used  to  be,  you  might  come  back 
ag'in." 

It  was  difficult  for  Mr.  Stull  to  control  his  voice 
and  his  manner,  but  he  did  it.  "I  am  not  accus- 
tomed," he  said  in  a  tone  as  cold  and  disinterested  as 
he  could  command,  "  to  change  the  place  where  I  take 
my  meals.  I  have  been  coming  here  for  a  long  time, 
and  I  shall  continue  to  do  so.  By  the  way," —  and 
here  Mr.  Stull  determined  to  make  a  somewhat  haz- 
ardous stroke, — "  do  the  proprietors  of  this  establish- 
ment approve  of  these  changes  ?  " 

Mr.  Bullripple  leaned  farther  over  the  desk,  and 
his  tone  became  very  confidential.  "  John  never  told 
me  what  sort  of  man  Vatoldi  is,  and  I've  never  asked 
him  anythin'  about  him.  But  it's  my  opinion,  Mr. 
Stull,  that  he  is  a  mean,  sneakin'  hound  who  gits  as 
much  as  he  can  out  of  other  people,  and  gives  'em 
jus'  as  little  as  he  can  make  'em  take,  and  when  any 
trouble  comes  up  he  puts  his  tail  between  his  hind 
legs  and  sneaks  off  like  a  dog  that's  been  whipped  fur 
stealin'  victuals  off  the  kitchen  table,  and  keeps  out 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  121 

of  sight  and  hearin'  till  everythin'  is  all  right  ag^in, 
leavin'  other  people  to  stand  up  and  be  boycotted  and 
abused.  Now,  if  that  coward  of  a  proprietor,  with  a 
ham  sandwich  for  a  soul,  and  a  stale  one  at  that,  don't 
like  the  way  things  are  being  managed  here,  let  him 
come  out  of  his  hole  and  say  so  to  me.  That's  all  I 
want.  Let  him  come  and  tell  me  what  he  thinks 
about  it !  "  And,  with  that,  the  old  man  brought  his 
hand  heavily  down  on  the  desk. 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  strong  man,  especially  in  those 
mental  faculties  whose  duty  it  was  to  guard  his  long- 
preserved  secret,  but  his  strength  was  scarcely  equal 
to  this  occasion.  If  he  had  spoken  a  word  he  would 
have  exploded  like  a  dynamite  bomb.  All  that  he  did 
was  to  turn  away  suddenly  with  a  "  Humph !  n  as  if 
he  had  been  wasting  his  valuable  time  in  listening  to 
this  talk  about  matters  in  which  he  took  no  interest. 
He  then  stalked  off,  the  condescension  with  which  he 
stepped  out  of  the  way  of  an  incoming  customer 
being  mingled  with  a  ferocity  which,  had  it  been 
observed,  must  have  been  considered  a  singular  com- 
bination. 

Furious  as  was  the  mind  of  Mr.  Sfcull,  raging  as  it 
did  by  day  and  by  night  against  the  cruel  fate  which 
obliged  him  to  bear  these  insults,  these  wrongs,  and 
these  treacheries  without  opening  his  mouth  or  mov- 
ing his  hand  in  his  own  defense,  his  mental  turmoil 
did  not  prevent  his  regular  attendance  at  Vatoldi's. 
He  might,  he  thought,  have  staid  away  without  excit- 
ing remark,  for  his  absence  would  naturally  be  at- 
tributed to  his  disgust  at  the  present  state  of  affairs. 
But  he  could  not  stay  away.  He  must  go  there,  he 

11 


122  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

must  see  what  that  black-hearted  scoundrel  of  a 
farmer  was  doing  with  his  property.  Since  the 
departure  of  John  People,  no  money  had  been  paid 
in  at  the  bank,  the  manager  having  probably  neg- 
lected to  inform  his  uncle  of  that  part  of  the  daily 
duties  of  the  establishment.  But  Mr.  Stull  was  not 
disturbed  on  this  account.  Monstrous  as  he  consid- 
ered Enoch  Bullripple's  conduct  to  be,  he  knew  that 
the  old  man  was  perfectly  honest,  and  he  felt  sure 
that  he  would  account  to  John  for  all  moneys  ex- 
pended, and  hand  over  the  surplus.  That  John  him- 
self was  a  defaulter  was  out  of  the  question.  Mr. 
StulTs  constant  supervision  never  gave  him  a  chance 
to  be  dishonest,  and  he  had  made  his  regular  deposit 
on  the  day  he  left.  Stull  also  believed  Enoch's  state- 
ment that  the  young  man  had  not  betrayed  his  secret. 
No  matter  to  what  height  his  manager's  stupid  folly 
might  rise,  he  still  felt  sure  that  he  was  to  be  trusted 
in  this. 


CHAPTER  X 


R.  CRISMAN  spent  a  very  pleasant 
Sunday  at  Cherry  Bridge,  and  he 
detailed  to  the  ladies,  with  much 
more  satisfaction  than  if  Mr.  Strat- 
ford had  been  present,  his  yachting 
experiences  of  the  previous  week. 
These  were  by  no  means  extraordinary  experiences, 
but  they  were  rather  novel  to  Mr.  Crisman,  and  he 
talked  about  them  to  his  heart's  content.  Mrs.  Justin's 
heart  was  content  before  she  had  heard  the  half  of 
them ;  and  Gay  sometimes  caught  herself  wondering 
if  some  of  the  things  her  lover  told  were  of  sufficient 
importance  to  deserve  so  much  careful  elucidation  on 
his  part  and  attention  on  her  own.  Of  course  she 
wanted  to  hear  his  adventures,  but  she  was  not  very 
desirous  to  be  told  precisely  how  Pete  Cummins  and 
Charley  Slocum  sat  together  in  the  stern,  and  how 
Abe  Henderson,  who  was  just  abaft  the  mast  trying 
to  smoke  out  one  of  those  smuggled  cigars  which  he 
had  bought  from  a  sailor  on  the  Battery,  sung  out 
that  there  was  a  squall  coming  and  would  strike  them 
on  the  port  quarter  in  about  six  minutes,  and  that 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  was  to  put  into  the 
island  until  the  blow  was  over,  if  they  staid  all  night; 
and  how  everybody  aboard,  except  Tom  Wilson,  knew 

123 


124:  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

that  there  was  no  likelihood  of  a  squall,  or,  if  there 
was,  Abe  didn't  know  anything  about  it,  and  that 
Abe  was  just  trying  on  the  nautical  to  torment  Tom 
Wilson,  who  was  making  himself  comfortable  on  a 
roll  of  sail-cloth  in  the  bow  —  this  comical  Tom  Wil- 
son having  on  a  blue  flannel  shirt  which  he  bought 
too  big  by  mistake,  and  full  nineteen  inches  in  the 
collar,  giving  him  the  air  of  a  lady  going  out  to  an 
evening  party,  and  causing  him  to  be  particularly 
anxious  not  to  go  on  shore  and  make  a  guy  of  him- 
self, which,  of  course,  he  would  be  obliged  to  do  if  a 
squall  came  up. 

It  was  not  that  this,  and  similar  incidents,  possessed 
no  interest  for  her,  but  Gay's  mind  was  a  quick  one, 
and  could  comprehend  situations  upon  very  terse 
presentations.  Mr.  Crisman's  elaboration  of  minutige 
became,  therefore,  a  little  tiresome  to  her,  although 
she  did  not  acknowledge  this  to  herself,  and  listened 
with  such  gentle  attention  that  Mr.  Crisman  felt  it 
was  almost  as  pleasant  to  tell  about  these  things  as 
to  be  at  the  happening  of  them. 

On  Sunday  morning  he  went  to  church  with  the 
two  ladies,  and  in  the  afternoon  he  strolled  with  one, 
but  the  scent  of  the  yacht  trip  hung  around  his  con- 
versation still.  But  he  was  so  good-humored,  so 
buoyant  and  hearty  in  his  talk  and  manner,  and 
withal  so  handsome,  that  Gay  reproached  herself 
every  time  there  came  stealing  into  her  mind  a  sense 
of  distaste  for  small  vessels  on  salt  water.  It  was  a 
quiet,  uneventful  day,  but  Mrs.  Justin  and  Gay Armatt 
enjoyed  it  very  much.  The  conditions  for  enjoyment 
were  so  exactly  what  they  ought  to  be,  and  it  ap- 
peared so  just,  right,  and  perfectly  natural  that  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  125 

presence  of  Mr.  Crisman  should  give  pleasure  not 
only  to  Gay,  but  to  her  dear  friend,  that  the  pleasure 
came  to  these  two  ladies  as  the  delightful  conscious- 
ness of  virtue  comes  to  the  virtuous. 

When  Gay  took  her  charming,  beaming  face  up- 
stairs that  night,  she  sat  by  the  window  and  looked 
out  into  her  future  —  her  future  with  Charley  Cris- 
man. It  was  very  bright,  brighter  than  the  sunset. 
It  was  full  of  glowing  visions  of  a  voyage,  not  in  a 
little  boat  upon  a  bay,  but  in  a  great  ship  upon  the 
rolling  ocean $  of  far-away  and  lovely  lands  j  of  the 
weird  charms  of  foreign  life,  and  the  mountains  and 
plains  whence  trickled  the  headwaters  of  literature ; 
and  through  these  visionary  scenes  she  moved  with 
Charley,  hand  in  hand,  until  at  last  they  came  to  a 
lovely  rural  home,  which,  after  all,  would  be  more 
charming  than  the  ruins  of  the  past  or  the  palaces  of 
to-day. 

And  then  she  rose,  and  the  future  faded,  and  in  its 
stead  she  saw  the  sky,  and  there  were  some  stars 
there  which  reminded  her  of  the  stars  which  had 
come  twinkling  out  the  week  before,  when  she  had 
walked  home  after  dark  from  the  hill  where  she  had 
seen  the  sunset.  And  now  it  came  into  her  mind 
that,  for  some  reason  or  other,  she  did  not  know 
exactly  why,  it  was  more  pleasant  for  Mr.  Stratford 
not  to  be  here  on  the  Sundays  Charley  was  here. 
This  was  very  odd,  and  she  did  not  try  to  explain  it 
to  herself.  And  so,  with  the  Charley-smile  still  upon 
her  lips,  she  went  to  bed. 

Mr.  Crisman  did  not  immediately  retire,  but,  light- 
ing a  cigar,  he  went  out  on  the  piazza  to  have  a  walk 
and  a  smoke,  and  to  build  some  castles  in  the  air. 


126  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

His  thoughts  went  immediately  forth  to  a  medium- 
sized  frame  house,  probably  in  the  Queen  Anne  style, 
somewhere  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  From  the 
parlor  and  dining-room  floor  to  a  room  in  the  attic 
which  he  intended  to  fit  up  with  a  work-bench,  at 
which  he  could  make  all  sorts  of  little  things  that 
would  be  needed  about  the  house,  he  furnished  this 
home.  To  be  sure,  he  could  not  expect  to  be  in  it 
very  much  on  week-days ;  for,  as  he  had  to  be  at  the 
store  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  as  it  would 
take  him  at  least  an  hour  to  reach  the  city,  he  would 
have  to  have  his  breakfast  at  half-past  seven,  and 
therefore  get  up  at  seven ;  and,  as  for  coming  home, 
he  could  not  hope  to  reach  the  house  before  dark, 
except  in  the  long  summer  days.  But  then  there 
would  be  Sundays  and  holidays ;  and  even  on  ordi- 
nary days,  if  they  did  not  sit  up  too  late,  he  could 
rise  in  the  morning  quite  early  enough  to  have  a  good 
time  working  in  the  garden  and  getting  an  appetite 
for  his  breakfast.  He  knew  lots  of  fellows  who  lived 
out  of  town  who  did  that.  In  some  way  or  other, 
they  really  seemed  to  have  more  time  to  do  things 
than  his  friends  who  lived  in  the  city. 

As  to  Gay,  he  pictured  her  as  the  most  charming 
mistress  of  a  house  that  the  world  ever  saw.  He  did 
not  suppose  that  she  had  any  domestic  abilities,  for 
she  could  gain  nothing  of  these  while  she  was  grind- 
ing away  at  school  and  at  college ;  but  all  that  sort 
of  thing  would  soon  come  to  her,  as  it  does  to  every 
woman  who  is  worth  anything.  Of  course  they 
would  have  a  servant,  but  there  would  be  lots  for 
Gay  to  do  to  keep  her  busy  and  contented  while  he 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  127 

was  away.  For  one  thing,  he  would  have  a  poultry- 
house  and  yard,  and  the  care  of  the  hens  and  chickens 
would  give  Gay  no  end  of  fun  and  occupation.  He 
saw  her,  in  his  mind's  eye,  collecting  the  snow-white 
eggs,  and  tenderly  caring  for  the  downy  little  chicks. 
If  his  circumstances  improved, —  and  there  was  rea- 
son to  believe  that,  if  he  married,  he  would  be  pro- 
moted into  the  foreign  woolens  department, —  he 
would  have  a  cow,  although,  now  he  came  to  think  of 
it,  a  good  cow  ought  to  give  at  least  ten  quarts  of 
milk  a  day,  and  what  he  and  Gay  were  to  do  with  ten 
quarts  of  milk  he  could  not  see,  unless,  indeed,  they 
churned,  and,  by  George!  that  was  a  jolly  idea! 
They  would  make  their  own  butter,  and  Gay  should 
have  charge  of  it.  He  was  glad  Gay  was  not  a  rich 
girl,  because  she  would  take  so  much  more  pleasure 
in  all  this  sort  of  thing  than  she  would  if  she  had 
been  rich.  She  would  find  that  she  would  have  a  lot 
to  learn  that  they  didn't  teach  in  college.  But,  when 
she  once  came  to  give  her  mind  to  it,  he  knew  very 
well  that  she  would  get  along  splendidly. 

And  then,  throwing  away  the  stump  of  his  cigar, 
Mr.  Crisman  danced  twice  up  and  down  the  piazza, 
holding  out  his  arms  as  if  he  were  waltzing  with  Gay. 
And  having  finished  this  exercise,  he  went  into  the 
house,  locked  the  hall-door,  and  betook  himself  to  bed. 

Mrs.  Justin  did  not  have  a  very  long  rest  that 
night.  She  never  could  sleep  when  any  one  was 
walking  up  and  down  the  piazza  under  her  window ; 
and  when  Gay  married  Mr.  Crisman  —  and  to-day 
Mrs.  Justin  had  no  doubt  that  this  would  happen  — 
she  hoped  that  she  would  cure  him  of  this  practice. 


128  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

When  Mr.  Crisman  had  gone,  and  the  week  of 
ordinary  life  had  begun  again  at  Cherry  Bridge, 
Gay  let  one  day  pass  without  saying  anything  on 
the  subject,  and  then  she  asked  Mrs.  Justin  if  she 
did  not  think  it  somewhat  strange  that  Mr.  Strat- 
ford had  not  called  upon  them  since  he  went  back  to 
the  farm-house. 

"It  has  been  scarcely  three  days  since  he  was  here," 
said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  and  I  do  not  think  that  can  be  con- 
sidered a  very  long  absence." 

"  That  depends,"  said  Gay.  "  It  is  only  a  half -hour 
drive  for  him.  Have  the  people  at  the  farm  returned 
yet?" 

"  I  have  not  heard  that  they  have  returned,"  said 
Mrs.  Justin. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Gay,  thoughtfully,  "  from  what 
you  said  about  the  state  of  the  farm  household  when 
you  invited  the  two  gentlemen  here,  I  should  think  he 
must  be  having  a  very  uncomfortable  time  of  it." 

Mrs.  Justin  possessed  an  excellent  temper,  but  this 
remark  irritated  her.  She  felt  that  Gay  was  not 
called  upon  to  interest  herself  in  Mr.  Stratford's  wel- 
fare. And,  more  than  that,  she  perceived  in  Gay's 
words  something  of  a  reproach  to  herself.  Her  con- 
science told  her  this  was  not  altogether  undeserved. 
Affairs  must  be  going  on  roughly  at  the  farm,  with 
no  one  but  a  very  incompetent  woman  to  manage  the 
household,  and  it  did  not  at  all  conform  to  her  high 
ideas  of  hospitality  to  allow  an  old  friend,  such  as 
Mr.  Stratford  was,  to  remain  in  discomfort,  with  her 
own  large  house  so  near.  But  Stratford's  intentions 
and  conduct  made  it  impossible  for  her  to  have  him 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  129 

at  her  house  while  Gay  was  there.  But  that  was  no 
reason  why  the  duties  of  friendship  should  be  entirely 
neglected.  She  then  remarked  that  she  intended  to 
drive  over  to  the  farm  and  find  out  when  Mrs.  Peo- 
ple was  expected  back  and  how  matters  were  going 
on  there. 

"  I  will  go  with  you,"  said  Gay. 

Now  did  the  irritation  of  Mrs.  Justin  increase  so 
much  that  she  was  unable  to  conceal  it,  and  she  an- 
swered in  a  tone  more  severe  than  she  had  ever  be- 
fore used  towards  her  young  friend  : 

"  It  is  not  at  all  necessar/,  Gay,  that  you  should 
visit  the  farm.  I  am  going  to  the  village  this  morn- 
ing, and  will  then  drive  over  and  see  if  Mr.  Strat- 
ford needs  anything  that  I  can  do  for  him." 

Gay  could  not  fail  to  perceive  that  Mrs.  Justin  did 
not  approve  of  her  putting  herself  forward  in  the  cause 
of  Mr.  Stratford's  welfare,  but  she  was  not  offended, 
though  she  said  no  more  upon  the  subject.  It  might 
be  that  her  friend  was  sensitive  about  having  other 
people  interfere  in  a  case  like  this,  which  was  clearly 
within  her  own  province ;  and  as  Gay  considered  the 
matter,  she  thought  of  several  other  things  which 
might  have  induced  Mrs.  Justin  to  set  her  aside  in 
this  affair.  But  Gay's  considerations  of  these  possible 
reasons  did  not  in  the  slightest  degree  diminish  her 
interest  in  Mr.  Stratford. 

Mrs.  Justin  was  not  only  irritated  but  disappointed. 
Mr.  Crisman's  last  visit  had  produced  the  impression 
upon  her  that  perhaps,  after  all,  there  was  no  reason 
for  her  fears  in  regard  to  Stratford.  The  lovers  ap- 
peared so  happy  and  content  in  each  other's  company 


130  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

that  even  if  Mr.  Stratford  found  further  opportuni- 
ties of  interfering  with  their  engagement,  he  would 
discover  that  he  had  no  ground  to  work  on.  As  soon 
as  he  had  gone,  Gay  had  ceased  to  think  of  him,  and 
had  returned  to  her  allegiance  to  the  man  she  was  to 
marry.  But  now  Crisman  was  scarcely  out  of  the 
house  when  Gay  was  filled  with  anxiety  about  Mr. 
Stratford's  domestic  comfort,  and  with  disappoint- 
ment that  he  did  not  come  to  see  her.  All  this  was 
very  disheartening  to  Mrs.  Justin.  Mr.  Stratford 
was  out  when  she  called  at  the  farm-house,  but  her 
inquiries  convinced  her  that  he  was  probably  doing 
very  well,  as  it  was  evident  that  he  had  taken  the 
general  direction  of  his  domestic  economies  into  his 
own  hands.  She  gave  the  woman  in  charge  some 
advice  in  regard  to  the  gentleman's  comfort,  but  she 
made  no  report  of  her  proceeding  when  she  returned. 
Gay  asked  no  further  questions  about  Mr.  Strat- 
ford, and  she  and  her  friend  soon  returned  to  their 
ordinary  condition  of  amicable  intercourse.  It  was 
Mrs.  Justin's  custom  to  leave  her  visitors  free  to 
spend  the  mornings  as  they  best  pleased,  and  to  claim 
that  privilege  for  herself.  The  next  morning  Gay 
pleased  not  to  read  or  study.  She  was  restless  and 
thoughtful,  and  concluded  that  she  would  take  a 
walk.  So  she  walked  over  the  fields  and  hills  to  the 
little  eminence  where  she  had  seen  the  sunset.  She 
climbed  up  to  the  broad  rail  where  she  had  sat,  and 
she  sat  there  again  and  looked  at  the  sky.  The  sky 
was  blue  now,  with  white  clouds  floating  over  it,  but 
it  was  not  a  very  interesting  sky,  and  Gay  got  down 
from  the  fence  on  the  other  side  from  that  on  which 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  131 

she  had  climbed  up.  Then  she  walked  on  into  a 
country  which  was  new  to  her,  and  in  which  she  ex- 
perienced some  of  the  sensations  of  the  adventurer, 
for  she  knew  she  was  not  now  on  Mrs.  Justin's  land. 

She  kept  on  until  she  came  to  the  bottom  of  a  hill, 
where  there  was  a  little  brook ;  and  when  she  had 
rested  herself  by  its  banks  a  few  minutes,  watching 
the  hurrying  water  as  it  pushed  around  and  between 
and  over  the  big  stones  which  lay  in  its  course,  she 
stepped  upon  one  or  two  of  the  driest  of  these  stones, 
and  was  over  the  brook  in  a  flash.  She  followed  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  stream  around  the  end  of  a  low 
hill,  and  then  she  found  herself  in  a  pretty  little  valley 
with  this  mountain  stream  running  down  the  middle 
of  it.  Not  far  away  there  was  a  clump  of  trees  by 
the  side  of  the  brook,  and  just  above  these  a  man  was 
fishing. 

Almost  as  soon  as  she  saw  this  man  Gay  knew  it 
was  Mr.  Stratford.  She  stopped,  uncertain  whether 
or  not  to  go  on.  Before  the  conversation  of  yester- 
day she  would  not  have  hesitated  for  a  moment,  but 
would  have  hurried,  as  fast  as  she  could  run,  to  see 
Mr.  Stratford  fish;  but  now  a  recollection  of  the 
words  and,  still  more,  the  manner,  of  Mrs.  Justin 
produced  a  vague  impression  upon  her  mind  that  she 
ought,  perhaps,  to  turn  around  and  go  back  the  way 
she  came.  But  instantly  she  began  to  ask  herself 
what  possible  reason  there  was  for  this  impression. 
What  was  there  in  Mrs.  Justin's  words  or  manner 
which  should  prevent  her  from  speaking  to  Mr.  Strat- 
ford when  she  saw  him  ?  If  he  happened  to  turn  his 
head  she  would  be  full  in  his  view,  and  if  he  saw  her 


132  THE  HUNDEEDTH  MAN. 

going  away  what  would  he  think  of  her  ?  She  would 
be  treating  him  as  if  he  were  some  stranger  to  be 
avoided.  It  would  be  most  unkind  and  improper  in 
her  to  behave  to  him  in  an  unfriendly  way,  and  so 
she  would  go  on  and  speak  to  him. 

This  she  did,  but  she  did  not  run.  She  walked 
very  sedately  over  the  grass;  and  when  she  came 
near  him  he  heard  the  slight  rustling  of  her  dress, 
and  turned. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Stratford,"  she  said.  "  Shall 
I  frighten  the  fish  if  I  come  there  ?  " 

Mr.  Stratford  was  surprised,  but  very  glad  to  see 
Gay.  He  put  down  his  rod,  and  came  forward  to 
greet  her.  He  said  it  did  not  matter  in  the  least 
whether  she  frightened  the  fish  or  not,  and  wanted 
to  know  how  she  had  happened  to  come  this  way. 

When  this  had  been  explained,  Gay  begged  him  to 
go  on  with  his  fishing,  because  nothing  would  so 
much  delight  her  as  to  see  how  he  caught  a  trout. 
Thereupon  they  both  approached  the  brook,  and 
while  Gay  stood  a  little  to  one  side,  Mr.  Stratford 
took  up  his  rod  and  began  with  much  dexterity  to 
throw  his  fly  among  the  ripples  at  the  bottom  of  a 
tiny  waterfall.  In  a  few  moments  he  caught  a  trout 
and  threw  it  out  upon  the  grass ;  then  Gay  ran  up 
to  it,  dropped  down  on  her  knees,  and  was  full  of 
admiration  for  its  beautiful  colors  and  spots.  If  it 
had  been  Mr.  Crisman  who  was  fishing,  Gay  would 
have  implored  him  to  throw  the  poor  little  thing  back 
into  the  water,  but  in  regard  to  a  fish  hooked  by  Mr. 
Stratford  she  had  no  such  thought.  If  he  caught  it, 
it  was  of  course  quite  right  that  he  should  do  so. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  133 

And  now  Mr.  Stratford  asked  her  if  she  would  like 
to  fish.  Gay  declared  that  she  would  be  perfectly  de- 
lighted to  do  so,  but  unfortunately  she  did  not  know 
how ;  she  had  never  fished  since  she  was  a  little  girl, 
and  then  in  the  most  primitive  way,  with  worms. 
She  had  heard  and  read  a  good  deal  about  artificial 
flies,  but  she  had  never  before  seen  any  one  use  them. 
Thereupon  Mr.  Stratford  took  out  his  book  of  flies, 
and  showed  Gray  the  various  kinds  of  feather  insects, 
and  told  her  when  and  why  he  used  this  variety  or 
that.  Then  she  was  very  anxious  to  begin,  and 
Stratford  put  the  rod  into  her  hands,  explained  the 
use  of  the  reel,  and  going  a  little  farther  along  the 
brook,  he  began  to  give  her  lessons  in  managing  the 
rod,  throwing  the  fly,  and  in  various  other  branches 
of  trout-fishing.  Gay's  business  in  life  was  to  learn, 
and  she  was  so  bright  and  quick  at  seeing  what 
ought  to  be  done,  and  Stratford  was  so  earnest  and 
patient  in  teaching,  that  after  half  an  hour's  practice 
she  could  make  a  fly  skim  above  the  surface  of  the 
water  with  something  which  resembled  in  a  certain 
degree  the  skill  of  a  practiced  fisher. 

In  the  course  of  time  a  trout  actually  rose  to  her 
fly,  and  she  hooked  it.  With  a  wild,  spasmodic  jerk, 
which  would  have  broken  her  tackle  had  the  fish 
been  a  large  one,  she  threw  it  far  out  on  the  grass, 
the  line  just  grazing  Mr.  Stratford's  hat  as  it  flew 
over  his  head.  She  was  now  in  raptures,  and  she 
fished  on  with  much  zest,  although  her  success  was 
small. 

And  so  Gay  did  all  the  fishing,  for  Mr.  Stratford 
assured  her  that  he  could  fish  any  day,  and  that  it 

12 


134  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

was  ever  so  much  more  pleasure  to  show  her  how  to 
use  the  rod  than  to  use  it  himself.  And  they  walked 
and  they  talked,  and  Gay  declared  that  she  had  found 
out  something  which  was  not  taught  in  colleges,  and 
that  was  that  the  way  to  superoxygenate  the  air  was 
to  fish.  The  atmosphere  seemed  truly  full  of  exhila- 
ration, and  not  only  she  herself,  but  everything  else, 
seemed  to  be  breathing  it  with  delight. 

"  I  wish  Izaak  Walton  had  written  his  book  in 
Greek,"  cried  Gay,  "  for  then  I  would  put  it  among 
my  Greek  reading  next  winter,  and  in  that  way  keep 
before  my  mind  this  fussy  little  brook  with  real  fish- 
ing fish  in  it.  And  now  won't  you  show  me  again 
how  to  give  that  little  wobble  to  the  fly  as  I  wave  it? " 

And  so  Mr.  Stratford  took  Gay's  little  hand  into 
his  own,  she  still  holding  the  rod,  and  the  fly  on  the 
end  of  the  line  began  to  wobble  itself  more  over  the 
water,  and  less  over  the  grass. 

At  length  Stratford  stopped  and  took  out  his  watch. 
"  I  think,  Miss  Armatt,"  he  said,  "  that  we  must  now 
give  up  fishing  for  to-day.  You  will  have  just  time 
enough  to  get  home  to  luncheon." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,"  exclaimed  Gay,  "  that  it 
is  nearly  one  o'clock ! " 

"  It  is  half -past  twelve,"  said  Stratford,  "  but  I  can 
show  you  a  much  shorter  way  to  Mrs.  Justin's  house 
than  that  by  which  you  came." 

And  now  the  little  feather  fly  was  put  away  with 
its  brothers,  the  rod  was  disjointed  and  packed  up, 
and  Gay  and  Stratford  walked  along  one  edge  of  the 
stream  until  they  came  to  a  good  place  to  cross,  when 
he,  with  one  foot  upon  a  rock  and  the  other  on  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  135 

bank,  took  both  her  hands  in  his,  and  she  made  a  fly- 
ing skip  over  the  brook  without  any  need  of  a  step- 
ping-stone. They  now  followed  the  course  of  the 
valley  until  they  came  to  a  fence,  in  one  panel  of 
which  were  movable  bars,  and  these  being  taken 
down  by  Mr.  Stratford,  Gay  passed  through.  Then 
he  put  them  up  again,  but  remained  on  the  other  side 
from  her. 

"  Now  all  you  have  to  do/'  he  said,  "  is  to  keep 
straight  on  until  you  get  to  the  corner  of  that  bit  of 
wood.  When  you  have  turned  that,  you  will  see  the 
house  before  you  at  the  bottom  of  a  long  hill." 

"But  are  you  not  coming  to  take  luncheon  with 
us  ? "  said  Gay.  "  I  thought,  of  course,  you'd  do  that  !'? 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Stratford,  with  a  smile.  "I 
couldn't  lunch  with  ladies  in  these  fishing  clothes  and 
muddy  boots." 

"The  clothes  are  quite  good  enough,"  said  Gay; 
"  and  I  am  sure  that  Mrs.  Justin  won't  like  it  at  all 
when  she  hears  you  have  been  so  near  and  wouldn't 
stop  to  luncheon." 

Stratford  smiled,  but  shook  his  head. 

"  Then  you  will  come  to-morrow  ? "  said  Gay.  "  You 
haven't  been  to  see  us  for  ever  so  long ;  and  I  have 
six  pages  marked,  on  which  there  are  things  I  want 
to  ask  you  about." 

Mr.  Stratford  stood  by  the  fence,  leaning  on  the 
upper  rail.  "  Miss  Armatt,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  visit  you  to-morrow.  In  fact,  as  I  am  going 
to  the  city  in  a  day  or  two,  it  will  be  some  time  before 
I  can  give  myself  the  pleasure  of  calling  at  Mrs.  Jus- 
tin's house." 


136  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  I  don't  see  what  going  to  the  city  in  a  day  or 
two  has  to  do  with  it,"  said  Gay,  "when  you  live 
so  near." 

Stratford  laughed,  but  made  no  answer  to  this  re- 
mark. "  You  must  not  think,  Miss  Arrnatt,"  he  said, 
"  that  I  have  any  intention  of  evading  those  six 
marked  pages.  But  I  must  not  keep  you  here  any 
longer,  or  Mrs.  Justin  will  think  you  are  lost.  Good- 
bye, for  just  now."  And  he  reached  out  his  hand 
over  the  fence. 

Gay  put  her  hand  in  his,  and  as  she  did  so  she  said 
nothing,  but  looked  straight  into  his  eyes  with  an 
expression  full  of  interrogation. 

"  Good-bye,"  he  said  again.  And  then  he  gently 
dropped  her  hand,  and  she  went  her  way. 

Gay's  way  was  now  a  thoughtful  one,  and  her 
thoughts  could  have  been  formulated  to  express  the 
idea  that  the  best  plan  to  expel  the  oxygen  from  the 
air  was  to  have  Mr.  Stratford  say  the  things  he  had 
been  saying.  There  was  something  wrong,  and  she 
could  not  understand  it.  In  fact,  she  soon  gave  up 
trying  to  understand  it ;  and  her  mind,  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  walk  home,  was  entirely  occupied  with 
the  contemplation  of  the  fact  that  never  in  her  life 
had  she  met  any  one  who,  in  certain  respects,  could 
be  compared  to  Mr.  Stratford  as  a  companion.  It 
was  not  merely  that  he  knew  so  much  about  all  sorts 
of  things ;  it  was  a  good  deal  more  than  that.  His 
mind  seemed  to  possess  the  quality  of  hospitality  j  it 
seemed  to  open  its  doors  to  you,  to  ask  you  to  come 
in  and  make  yourself  at  home ;  and  you  could  not 
help  going  in  and  making  yourself  at  home  —  at  least 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  137 

Gay  could  not.  And  she  did  not  want  to  help  it, 
either.  She  had  never  known  any  one  on  whom,  in 
certain  respects,  it  was  such  a  pleasure  to  depend  as 
Mr.  Stratford.  Even  when  he  helped  her  over  the 
brook,  or  showed  her  how  to  use  a  fishing-rod,  there 
was  something  encouraging  and  inspiriting  in  his 
very  touch. 

And  yet  Gay's  thoughts  and  sentiments  in  regard 
to  Mr.  Stratford  did  not  interfere  in  the  least  with 
her  thoughts  and  sentiments  regarding  Mr.  Crisman. 
These  were  on  a  different  plane,  and  in  a  different 
sphere.  She  did  not  exactly  say  this  to  herself,  but 
reflections  of  similar  significance  passed  across  her 
mind,  and  being  of  such  easy  comprehension,  were 
not  detained  for  consideration. 

When  Mrs.  Justin  heard  where  Gay  had  been,  with 
whom  she  had  met,  how  she  had  fished,  how  she  had 
enjoyed  it,  what  a  perfectly  lovely  morning  it  had 
been,  what  a  charming  thing  it  was  to  have  a  man 
like  Mr.  Stratford  teach  one  how  to  fish,  how  Mr. 
Stratford  had  declined  to  come  to  lunch,  and  a  good 
deal  of  what  he  had  said  on  this  and  other  subjects, 
that  lady  listened  in  silence ;  her  face  was  grave,  and 
her  heart  was  pained.  She  felt  that  Fate  was  against 
her  in  the  effort  she  was  making  in  behalf  of  the 
right.  When  she  spoke  she  said  few  words  in  regard 
to  Mr.  Stratford's  visit  to  the  city,  and  then  changed 
the  subject.  In  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  a  bas- 
ket of  trout  was  sent  over  from  the  Bullripple  farm, 
and  they  were  cooked  for  dinner ;  but  Gay  noticed 
that  Mrs.  Justin,  who,  as  she  knew,  was  very  fond  of 
trout,  partook  not  of  this  dish. 


138  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mrs.  Justin's  peace  of  mind  was  not  increased  when, 
next  morning,  she  received  a  letter  from  Arthur 
Thorne  requesting  her  permission  to  address  Miss 
Armatt.  Mr.  Thorne  wrote  that  he  was  aware  that 
Mrs.  Justin  was  not  related  to  Miss  Armatt,  nor  was 
she  that  young  lady's  guardian,  but  as  Miss  Armatt 
was  at  present  a  member  of  her  family,  he  would  con- 
sider it  an  instance  of  bad  social  faith  were  he  to 
carry  out  his  present  intention  of  securing  board  in 
her  neighborhood  for  the  express  purpose  of  visiting 
Mrs.  Justin's  house  and  endeavoring  to  win  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  Miss  Armatt,  without  frankly  apprising 
Mrs.  Justin  of  said  intention.  The  letter  closed  with 
an  earnest  hope  that  this  proposed  step  would  meet 
with  Mrs.  Justin's  approval. 

"  Is  it  possible,"  exclaimed  the  lady  as  she  rose  to 
her  feet,  with  this  letter  crushed  in  her  hand,  "  that 
Stratford  has  never  told  his  friend  of  Mr.  Crisman  ?  * 

For  an  hour  Mrs.  Justin  walked  the  floor,  this  mat- 
ter galloping  through  her  mind,  and  then  she  sat 
down  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Thorne  informing 
him  of  Gay's  engagement  to  Mr.  Crisman.  She  did 
allude  to  the  strangeness  of  the  fact  that  he  had  not 
heard  of  this,  and  she  made  her  letter  as  kind  and  as 
appreciative  of  honorable  motives  as  she  believed  such 
a  truly  honorable  man  as  Arthur  Thorne  deserved. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HE  cyclones  and  the  typhoons  still 
continued  to  rage  through  the  soul 
of  J.  Weatherby  Stull  as  he  daily 
visited  Vatoldi's  and  beheld  the 
performances  of  Enoch  Bullripple. 
Whatever  deed  an  absolute  fool 
might  do,  that,  in  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Stull,  did  Enoch, 
and  whatever  a  wise  man  might  perform,  that  thing 
Enoch  left  undone.  With  John  People  gone  he  knew 
not  whither,  and  not  a  soul  on  earth  with  whom 
he  could  share  his  misery  and  rage,  Mr.  StulPs  con- 
dition was  such  that  every  hour  threatened  the  down- 
fall of  Mr.  Bullripple,  and  the  simultaneous  toppling 
over  of  the  lofty  social  pedestal  of  the  Stull  family. 
But  the  head  of  »the  family  had  made  that  pedestal 
his  only  object  of  adoration,  and  it  was  that  adora- 
tion which,  time  after  time,  saved  the  pedestal  from 
the  destruction  threatened  by  its  builder. 

As  has  been  said,  Mr.  Stull  came  every  day  to  Ya- 
toldi's,  but  he  no  longer  brought  his  family,  nor  urged 
them  to  come.  That  restaurant,  with  its  swaggering 
waiters  and  its  flaunting  placards  of  "  Chowder"  and 
"  Golden  Buck,"  was  no  place  for  them.  In  its  pres- 
ent condition  he  did  not  wish  to  see  the  place  patron- 
ized. He  went  there  himself  because  he  must  know 

139 


140  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

what  was  going  on,  but  lie  would  have  been  very 
glad  if  no  one  else  had  gone.  Attracted  by  Enoch's 
showy  inducements,  and  by  the  notoriety  which  the 
boy  cotters  had  given  to  the  place,  a  great  many  per- 
sons took  their  meals  at  Vatoldi's.  But  they  were 
not  the  former  patrons  of  the  establishment.  They 
belonged  to  a  much  lower  social  sphere ;  and,  had 
circumstances  permitted,  it  would  have  delighted  the 
soul  of  Mr.  Stull  to  take  each  one  of  them  by  the 
neck  and  put  him  out  into  the  street,  and  then  to  close 
the  shutters  of  Vatoldi's  and  lock  and  bar  its  doors, 
keeping  them  closed  and  barred  until  affairs  could  be 
so  ordered  that  he  could  re-open  his  old  establishment 
upon  its  old  basis  of  order,  propriety,  and  systematic 
excellence. 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Horace  Stratford  arrived  in 
town,  and  being  very  desirous  to  obtain  news  of  his 
landlord  and  landlady,  from  whom  he  had  received  but 
two  very  unsatisfactory  notes,  he  repaired  directly  to 
Vatoldi's.  When  he  reached  the  place  he  was  sur- 
prised to  see  a  crowd  before  the  door,  who  regarded 
with  much  lively  interest  a  man  who  was  taking  a 
meal  at  a  small  table  placed  on  the  sidewalk  directly 
in  front  of  one  of  the  large  windows.  Over  this  man's 
head  hung  a  placard,  on  which  was  inscribed : 

"YESTERDAY  THE  BOYCOTTEES  GAVE  ME 

TWO  DOLLARS 
TO  PLAY  SHAM,  AND  TO-DAY  I  AM  PAID 

THREE  DOLLARS 
TO  EAT,  DRINK,  AND  BE  MERRY." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  141 

Mr.  Stratford  did  not  stop  to  ask  questions ;  but, 
seeing  Mrs.  People  inside  the  door,  he  immediately 
walked  in  and  accosted  her.  The  good  woman's  face 
was  beaming  with  the  pleasure  which  frequently  fol- 
lows a  benevolent  action.  A  big  policeman — all 
sorts  of  people  now  came  to  Vatoldi's —  had  just 
been  partaking  of  a  repast  at  a  table  near  the  door, 
and  Mrs.  People,  who  had  been  temporarily  left  in 
charge  of  the  cashier's  desk,  and  who  liked  to  encour- 
age the  patronage  of  policemen  in  these  troublous 
times,  had  cut  a  large  slice  of  one  of  her  own  cherry 
pies,  and  had  taken  it  to  him  with  her  own  hands  as 
a  gratuitous  addition  to  his  meal. 

"  That's  from  me,"  she  said,  in  her  brusque,  cheer- 
ful way.  "It's  all  right.  Don't  mention  it."  And 
then  she  bustled  back  to  the  desk. 

When  the  policeman  came  up  to  pay  the  amount  of 
his  check,  Mrs.  People,  who  was  not  an  adept  at  addi- 
tion and  subtraction,  gave  him  his  change  with  a 
deficiency  in  the  amount  which  was  larger  than  the 
price  of  the  piece  of  pie.  The  good  policeman  per- 
ceived the  error,  but  hesitated  a  little  before  mention- 
ing it  to  a  person  who  had  just  been  so  generous  to 
him.  He  stood  for  a  moment  undecided  whether  to 
speak  or  not,  when  Mrs.  People  exclaimed : 

"  Now,  don't  say  anything  about  that  pie.  That's  all 
right.  Did  you  think  it  was  good?  It  ought  to  be, 
for  I  made  it  myself."  And  then,  with  a  jolly  little  nod, 
she  turned  aside  to  speak  to  a  waiter,  and  the  police- 
man, in  a  state  of  uncertain  gratefulness,  departed. 

The  glow  of  kindliness  upon  Mrs.  People's  counte- 
nance brightened  into  the  radiance  of  joy  when  she 


142  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

beheld  Mr.  Stratford.  With  outstretched  hand  she 
hurried  to  meet  him,  and  poured  forth  an  instan- 
taneous torrent  of  questions  regarding  his  welfare  at 
the  farm,  broken  by  great  bowlders  of  regret  at  the 
unfortunate  state  of  affairs  which  obliged  her  to  leave 
him  there  alone. 

It  was  an  hour  when  there  were  few  persons  in  the 
long  room  j  but  had  the  place  been  crowded,  it  would 
have  been  all  the  same  to  Mrs.  People. 

After  a  time  Mr.  Stratford  began  to  ask  questions. 
"  This  place  seems  very  much  changed/'  he  said, 
looking  about  him.  "  Has  boycotting  done  all  this?" 

"  The  dear  knows  what  it  has  done,  and  what  it 
hasn't  done,"  said  Mrs.  People.  "  Enoch  attends  to 
the  upstairs  business,  and  I  have  my  hands  full  tryin' 
to  keep  things  straight  in  the  kitchen.  He  is  out 
now,  and  so  I  had  to  come  up  here ;  but  he'll  be  back 
directly,  and  mighty  glad  he'll  be  to  see  you." 

"What  is  the  meaning,"  asked  Stratford,  "  of  that 
man  eating  at  a  table  outside,  with  the  people  stand- 
ing along  the  curb-stone  looking  at  him  ?" 

"  Oh,  that's  one  of  Enoch's  contrivances/'  said  Mrs. 
People,  with  a  laugh.  "Yesterday  the  boycotters 
hired  that  man  to  come  in  here  and  get  somethin7  to 
eat  j  and,  dear  knows,  they  didn't  give  him  money  to 
git  much  ;  and  when  he  had  finished,  he  went  out  on 
the  pavement  right  in  front  of  the  door,  and  bent 
himself  nearly  double,  and  began  to  howl  as  if  he  was 
suff'rin',  and  to  holler  out  that  he'd  been  p'izened  by 
what  had  been  given  him  to  eat  in  here.  As  true  as 
I  live,  sir,  'twasn't  more'n  half  a  minute  before  there 
was  a  crowd  outside,  a-blockin'  up  the  pavement; 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  143 

and  where  they  came  from  so  quick  I  don't  know ; 
and  that  man  in  the  middle  of  them  a-howlin'  and 
groanin7  and  shakin'  his  fist  at  the  people  in  here  for 
p'izenin'  of  him.  It  wouldn't  'a7  been  two  minutes 
before  there'd  been  a  row,  and  windows  broke,  for  all 
I  know,  but  the  very  second  that  Enoch  sat  eyes  on 
the  man  and  saw  what  was  up,  he  made  one  dash  out 
the  front  door,  and  grabbed  the  feller  by  the  collar, 
and  pulled  him  inside  in  no  time.  Then  two  of  the 
waiters  they  took  the  man  one  by  each  arm  and 
Enoch  pushin'  behind,  and  they  whisked  him  out 
lively  into  the  little  back-yard,  and  then  they  got  him 
down  right  flat  on  the  bricks,  and  Enoch  he  called  for 
a  big  bottle  of  olive  oil  to  give  to  him  quick  to  stop 
the  p'izen.  Then  the  feller  he  got  frightened,  not 
knowin'  what  he'd  be  made  to  take,  and  he  sung  out 
that  he  wasn't  p'izened  at  all,  and  that  'twas  all  sham. 
Then  Enoch  he  sent  the  waiters  away  and  let  the  man 
up,  and  then  and  there  he  made  a  bargain  with  him  ; 
and  as  he  had  been  hired  yesterday  to  make  believe 
he  was  sick,  Enoch  hired  him  to  come  to-day  and  set 
out  in  front  of  the  shop  and  eat,  and  let  people  see 
that  the  victuals  we  furnish  here  agree  with  him. 
Enoch  has  give  orders  that  they're  to  take  victuals 
out  to  him  a  little  at  a  time,  so's  he  can  be  kep'  eatin' 
all  day.  This  mornin'  some  boycotter's  boys  threw 
mud  at  him,  but  the  perlice  ketched  7em,  and  there 
was  an  end  to  that.  And  here  comes  Enoch  now." 

Mr.  Bullripple  was  quite  as  glad  to  see  his  boarder 
as  Mrs.  People  had  been,  and  the  two  sat  down  at  a 
table  and  had  a  long  talk  on  the  state  of  affairs.  Mr. 
Stratford  was  greatly  interested  in  Enoch's  account 


144  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

of  what  he  had  done,  for  the  old  man  told  him  every- 
thing, even  to  his  method  of  getting  rid  of  John  Peo- 
ple in  order  to  have  a  clear  field  to  work  in. 

"You  see,  sir,"  said  Enoch,  "  what  I'm  about  is  a 
good  sight  deeper  than  what  folks  is  likely  to  think 
that  jus'  looks  at  it  from  the  outside.  There's  a  rat 
in  a  hole  in  this  Vatoldi  business,  and  all  these  things 
that  surprise  you  about  the  place  is  the  stick  that  I'm 
tryin'  to  punch  him  out  with ;  and  I  think  that  feller 
eatin'  outside  has  just  made  the  stick  about  long 
enough  to  reach  the  mean,  sneakin'  varmint  at  the 
bottom  of  his  hole.  Fm  almost  dead  sure  I  tetched 
him,  for  if  he  didn't  stick  out  his  head  this  morning 
I'm  wuss  mistaken  than  I  ever  was  before  in  myj/pe. 
I'm  pretty  sure  that  it  won't  be  long  now  before  I'll 
have  him.  And  then,  if  I  choose,  Mr.  Stratford, —  I 
don't  say  that  I'm  goin'  to  do  it,  but  I  can  do  it,  if  I 
like, —  I'm  of  the  opinion  I  can  show  you  your  hun- 
dredth man.  For  if  there's  one  man  that  sticks  out 
sharp  from  any  hundred  people  you  know,  it's  this 
one  I'm  after." 

"  I  have  a  very  strong  notion,  Enoch,"  said  Mr. 
Stratford,  "  if  you  catch  the  person  you  call  your  rat, 
and  bring  him  to  me  yourself,  that  I  shall  see  my 
hundredth  man." 


CHAPTER  XII 


N  the  day  of  Mr.  Stratford's  arrival 
in  the  city,  and  very  soon  after  he 
had  parted  from  Enoch  Bullripple, 
the  latter  received  a  letter  from  his 
nephew,  John  People.  It  was  a 
long  letter,  and  full  of  indignation 
and  reproach.  In  the  strongest  terms  which  John's 
sense  of  duty  would  allow  him  to  use  towards  a  re- 
spected relative,  he  protested  against  the  injustice  and 
injury  which  had  been  done  him  by  the  unwarrant- 
able trick  played  upon  him  by  his  uncle.  Mr.  Bull- 
ripple's  letter  had  assured  him  that  it  was  all  intend- 
ed for  his  good,  but  this  declaration  made  no  impres- 
sion on  John.  He  had  been  ruthlessly  forced  to  break 
his  faith  with  his  employer,  and  to  desert  and  neglect 
the  interests  which  had  been  intrusted  to  him.  Noth- 
ing on  earth  could  have  tempted  him  voluntarily 
to  do  what  he  had  been  tricked  into  doing.  Instead 
of  this  enforced  absence  being  a  benefit  to  him,  he 
felt  sure  it  would  work  him  an  injury.  He  had  writ- 
ten to  his  employer  explaining  the  whole  affair,  but 
he  had  no  reason  to  believe  that  his  explanations 
would  clear  him  from  condemnation  by  that  person ; 
and  disaster,  both  to  his  fortune  and  to  the  busi- 
13  "5 


146  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ness,  must  certainly  result  from  his  uncle's  deplor- 
able action. 

John  further  stated  that,  instead  of  writing,  he 
would  have  hastened  home  himself,  but  that  he  had 
no  money  by  which  to  come  by  rail,  and  that  the 
steamer  on  which  he  had  a  return  ticket  would  not 
start  North  for  several  days.  He  had  written  for 
money  to  be  telegraphed  to  him,  and  would  be  in  the 
city  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  had  read  this  letter  his  coun- 
tenance was  not  that  of  a  man  whose  conscience  had 
been  touched  by  the  reproaches  of  one  he  had  wronged. 
On  the  contrary,  he  allowed  himself  a  smile  of  much 
content  as  he  folded  the  letter  and  slipped  it  into  an 
inner  pocket  of  his  coat. 

"  Written  to  the  boss,  has  he  !  "  he  said  to  himself. 
"  That's  all  right ;  and  now  we'll  wait  and  see  what 
happens  next.  If  the  boss  can  stand  that  punch  with- 
out comiii'  out  of  his  hole  and  showin'  himself,  he's 
got  more  grit  than  anybody  Fve  met  yit  on  this 
planet." 

The  fact  that  John  had  not  been  able  immediately 
to  set  out  on  his  return  to  the  city  was  a  comfort  and 
relief  to  the  soul  of  Mr.  Bullripple,  for  he  had  found 
that  the  task  of  ferreting  out  the  concealed  proprietor 
of  Vatoldi's  was  more  difficult  than  he  had  expected 
it  to  be,  and  for  the  past  day  or  two  he  had  feared 
that  his  nephew  might  make  his  appearance  and  pre- 
vent the  successful  working  out  of  his  plans.  But 
now  there  was  some  time  yet  in  which,  with  his  per- 
ceptive faculties  keener  than  ever,  he  could  keep  a 
bright  lookout  for  the  other  man  to  whom  John  had 
written. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  147 

When  Mr.  Stull  received  his  letter  it  was  a  happy 
thing  for  him  that  he  was  alone,  for  he  fairly  roared 
with  fury.  He  had  thought  that  his  detestation  of 
Enoch  Bullripple  could  not  be  greater  than  it  had 
become  during  the  time  that  the  old  man  had  had 
sole  charge  of  Vatoldi's ;  but  now  Mr.  Stull  found 
that  he  had  been  mistaken.  Nothing  that  Bullripple 
had  done  could  compare  with  this  act  of  demoniacal 
villainy.  If  ever  a  man  had  been  revenged  on  another, 
he  would  be  revenged  on  this  old  farmer.  It  was  not 
necessary  for  him  to  show  himself,  nor  to  do  anything 
at  the  present  moment.  It  would  not  be  long  before 
John  People  would  return,  and  then  he  could  act,  as 
before,  unseen  and  unknown.  The  first  thing  he 
would  do  would  be  to  order  his  manager  immediately 
to  send  his  uncle  and  his  mother  to  their  home  in  the 
country ;  and  then  Mr.  Stull  determined  to  devote  all 
the  energy  of  his  intellect  to  schemes  by  which  that 
reprobate  of  a  Bullripple  should  be  made  to  suffer 
for  his  sins,  without  knowing  who  caused  him  his 
pangs  and  his  agony.  There  were  weak  places  in 
Mr.  Bullripple's  affairs  which  Stull  knew,  and  it  was 
at  these  spots  he  intended  to  strike  until  he  had 
reached  the  very  heart  of  his  victim. 

During  the  rest  of  that  day,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
night,  the  mind  of  Mr.  Stull  was  almost  entirely  given 
over  to  schemes  for  the  ruin  of  the  man  who  in  such 
scoundrelly  fashion  had  thrust  himself  into  his  path. 

The  next  day,  he  lunched  at  Vatoldi's,  as  was  his 
custom.  No  matter  what  happened,  he  said  to  him- 
self, he  would  make  no  change  in  his  ordinary  hab- 
its, and  give  no  one  reason  to  suppose  that  what 


148  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

was  occurring  there  was  of  the  slightest  concern  to 
him. 

But  the  difficulty  of  restraining  himself  to  his  pre- 
scribed line  of  action  was  now  greater  than  he  ever 
imagined  it  could  be.  To  look  at  Enoch  Bullripple 
without  hurling  knives,  forks,  and  imprecations  at 
him  induced  a  strain  which  few  minds  except  that  of 
J.  Weatherby  Stull  could  have  withstood.  He  ate  with 
assumed  appetite  the  meal  which  he  had  ordered,  and 
no  knives,  forks,  or  imprecations  flew  through  the 
air.  But  his  soul  writhed,  groaned,  and  gritted  its 
teeth  within  him,  and  he  longed  for  the  coming  of 
John  People,  and  the  beginning  of  his  vengeance. 
Not  only  the  uncle,  but  the  nephew,  should  suffer. 
He  had  to  be  very  careful  in  his  treatment  of  the  only 
person  who  held  his  secret,  but  he  would  not  allow 
himself  to  forget  that  John  had  been  weak  and  fool- 
ish enough  to  be  led  away  by  a  most  flimsy  trick 
from  his  post  of  duty  at  a  time  when  it  was  so  neces- 
sary that  he  should  be  there.  Mr.  Stull  had  not  yet 
determined  how  John  should  be  punished,  but  that 
this  punishment  should  take  place  he  most  solemnly 
promised  himself. 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  man  who,  if  he  had  anything  to  do, 
liked  to  go  to  work  and  do  it  as  soon  as  possible; 
and  the  very  next  morning,  he  set  on  foot  some  par- 
ticular inquiries  in  regard  to  the  tenure  by  which 
Enoch  held  his  farm.  He  thought  that  said  tenure 
probably  resembled  that  by  which  he  held  his  own 
farm ;  and,  if  this  should  prove  to  be  the  case,  he  had 
conceived  a  plan  by  which  the  meddling  old  man 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN,  149 

could  be  brought  to  a  just  punishment,  and  that,  too, 
without  knowing  who  had  brought  it  upon  him. 

He  ate  his  luncheon  at  Vatoldi's  that  day  with  a 
good  appetite,  for  the  prospect  of  making  himself 
even  with  old  Enoch,  and  the  knowledge  that  John 
would  very  soon  return,  had  restored  his  mental  and 
physical  systems  to  something  of  their  ordinary  con- 
dition. His  indignation  against  Enoch  received,  how- 
ever, fresh  fuel  to-day.  New  placards  had  been  hung 
upon  the  wall,  one  announcing  that  certain  puddings 
would  be  furnished  with  "  Boycotter  Sauce " ;  and 
the  general  vulgarity  and  low  tone  of  the  place 
seemed  to  be  on  the  increase.  Before  the  receipt  of 
John  People's  letter,  Mr.  Stull  had  believed  old  Bull- 
ripple  to  be  a  stupid  blunderer,  who,  knowing  nothing 
of  the  business  he  had  undertaken,  had  done  every- 
thing in  the  way  it  should  not  be  done ;  but  now  he 
believed  him  to  be  a  designing  rascal,  who,  hating 
anything  better  than  that  to  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed, was  taking  a  vicious  delight  in  pulling  Vatol- 
di's  down  to  his  own  level,  for  nothing  but  the  de- 
praved love  of  power,  and  the  desire  to  make  the 
restaurant  what  his  groveling  soul  thought  it  ought 
to  be,  could  have  induced  the  old  man  to  take  so 
much  trouble  to  get  his  nephew  out  of  the  way. 

Shortly  before  three  o'clock  that  afternoon,  Mr. 
Stull  was  astounded,  almost  paralyzed,  in  fact,  by  be- 
holding the  entrance,  unheralded  by  announcement 
or  knock,  of  Enoch  Bullripple  into  his  private  room 
at  the  bank.  His  astonishment  was  instantly  suc- 
ceeded by  an  influx  of  savage  fury  at  this  intrusion, 


150  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

and,  rising  to  his  feet,  he  was  about  to  launch  his 
indignation  against  the  old  man,  but  Enoch  spoke 
first.  Holding  out  a  large  wallet  stuffed  with  bank 
notes,  the  exuberance  of  which  was  restrained  by  a 
piece  of  twine,  he  said  : 

"  I  want  to  know,  Mr.  Stull,  what  Pm  to  do  with 
this  money.  There  hain't  been  none  deposited  in  the 
bank  since  John  went  away,  and  there's  a  good  deal 
more  of  it  now  than  ought  to  be  kep'  in  that  little 
safe  under  the  desk.  Now,  I  don't  know  whether  Pm 
to  deposit  it  in  John's  name,  or  in  your  name.  You 
know  I  haven't  got  no  account  at  this  bank." 

Mr.  Stull  sat  down.  His  face  was  gray,  his  eyes 
were  wide  open.  Mr.  Bullripple  took  a  chair  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  table,  on  which  he  laid  the  wallet. 

"  Sick  I "  said  he,  looking  over  at  the  other. 

Stull's  face  now  began  to  work.  "What  do  you — 
what  do  you  mean,"  he  stammered,  "  by  bringing  that 
to  me  ?  "  And  he  made  a  faint  motion  as  if  he  would 
push  the  wallet  from  the  table. 

Enoch  leaned  back  in  his  X3hair,  half  closed  his  eyes, 
and  grinned.  "  It  appears  to  me,"  he  said,  u  that  the 
man  that  owns  a  lot  of  money  is  the  best  person  to 
ask  what's  got  to  be  done  with  it.  Game's  up,  Jona- 
than Stull,"  he  added.  "  'Tain't  no  more  use  keepin'  in 
your  hole  ;  you  might  jus'  as  well  walk  right  out  and 
show  yourself." 

Dumb,  gray,  and  open-eyed,  Mr.  Stull  still  stared 
at  the  old  man.  One  thought  only  filled  his  mind:  that 
arch-fiend  on  the  other  side  of  the  table  possessed  his 
secret.  When  John  People  was  his  only  confidant 
Mr.  Stull  had  felt  safe  and  satisfied.  The  incalcu- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  151 

lable  importance  of  secrecy  had  been  made  known  to 
John.  The  young  man  was  honest  and  faithful,  and 
he  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  stealing  his  em- 
ployer's money  as  of  betraying  his  sacred  confidence. 

But  now  the  secret  was  known  to  a  black-hearted 
wretch.  Mr.  Stull  said  nothing,  because  no  words 
would  come  to  him ;  but  it  was  unnecessary  to  say 
anything.  No  questioning  was  needed  to  make  him 
see  plainer  than  he  saw  now  that  Enoch  Bullripple 
knew  that  he  was  the  owner  of  Vatoldi's. 

The  old  man  had  no  intention  of  forcing  his  victim 
to  express  himself,  nor  of  prolonging  the  interview 
merely  to  enjoy  his  triumph,  and  he  proceeded  at 
once  to  business.  "  Now,  Jonathan  Stull,'7  he  said, 
leaning  forward  on  the  table,  "  you  and  me  has  got 
somethin'  to  talk  about,  and  the  sooner  we  git  at  it 
the  better.  You're  a  good  deal  took  back,  I  can  see, 
and  don't  appear  to  be  ready  to  be  very  glib  with 
your  words.  But  that  ain't  needed.  All  you've  got 
to  do  jus'  now  is  to  listen ;  and  when  I'm  through, 
and  you've  come  a  little  to  your  senses,  you  can  tell 
me  what  you've  made  up  your  mind  to  do." 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that  not  for  one  moment 
did  Mr.  Stull  suspect  that  John  had  betrayed  him  to 
Bullripple.  The  tone  of  the  young  man's  letter  to 
him,  and  the  fact  that  his  uncle  found  it  necessary 
to  get  rid  of  him,  made  it  plain  to  Mr.  Stull  that 
John's  integrity  had  not  been  shaken.  He  knew,  as 
well  as  if  he  had  been  told,  that  in  some  way  he  had 
betrayed  himself  to  that  sharp-eyed  old  wolf  who 
was  now  glaring  at  him.  A  tidal  wave  of  rage  came 
rolling  back  upon  him.  It  was  necessary  to  restrain 


152  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

himself,  but  he  could  look  upon  Enoch  only  as  a 
venomous  creature  from  whom  it  was  difficult  to 
withhold  a  blow. 

"  Be  quick/'  he  said  savagely.  "  What  do  you  want  I 
Is  it  that  1 "  And  he  pointed  to  the  wallet. 

Enoch  struck  the  table  with  his  fist.  He,  too,  was 
roused,  but  he  felt  under  no  restraint.  "  Get  out 
with  you  ! "  he  said.  "  What  do  you  suppose  I  want 
with  your  pancake  and  molasses  money  f  But  I'll  let 
you  know  what  I  do  want  —  and  in  short  order  too. 
It's  not  been  very  long  since  I've  found  out  that  the 
person  who  was  working  my  nephew  John  by  day 
and  by  night,  and  givin'  him  mighty  little  for  it  and 
no  show  for  himself,  was  a  mean  sneak,  who,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  was  afraid  to  show  his  face, 
even  when  his  own  business  was  goin'  to  rack  and 
ruin ;  and  ever  sence  this  was  made  clear  and  plain 
to  me,  I've  jus'  given  myself  up  to  the  business  of 
rooting  out  that  feller,  and  have  left  my  farm  to  be 
took  charge  of  by  a  hired  man ;  and  how  much  I've 
lost  I  don't  know,  nor  I  don't  keer,  for  I've  got  him 
out.  He's  settin'  right  here  in  front  of  me.  By 
George ! "  the  old  man  exclaimed,  while  an  enormous 
grin  elevated  his  wrinkled  cheeks,  "  you  must  'a'  been 
tored  up  wuss  than  a  sassafras  field  that's  bein' 
grubbed  and  plowed  when  you  seed  me  turnin'  your 
eatin'  house  upside  down,  and  a-doin'  every  thin'  I 
knowed  was  agin  the  creed  and  catechism  of  whoever 
it  was  who  owned  the  place.  It  took  a  good  deal 
longer  to  fetch  that  rat  out  than  I  thought  it  would, 
fur  he  had  more  grit  than  I  give  him  credit  fur.  But 
I  did  it.  By  George !  I  did  it.  When  I  got  John's 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  153 

letter,  and  he  said  he'd  wrote  to  the  owner,  I  says  to 
myself,  *  That  feller's  bound  to  show  up  now,  if  ever 
he  does.'  And,  sure  enough,  he  did.  I'd  had  my  eye 
on  you  for  a  good  while,  though  there  was  times 
when  I  thought  you  couldn't  be  fool  enough  to  let  me 
rip  and  stave  jus7  as  I  pleased,  without  ever  liftin' 
your  finger  or  sayin'  a  word.  But  from  what  I'd  had 
to  do  with  you  afore,  I  knowed  you  was  the  man  to 
do  any  thin'  mean  and  sneakin'  if  it  was  called  fur ; 
and  your  comin'  there  so  constant  made  me  suspicion 
you.  It  wasn't  like  you  to  be  eatin'  every  day  in  a 
place  like  that  if  there  wasn't  a  better  reason  for  it 
than  what  you  said  about  your  allus  bein'  in  the  habit 
of  comin'.  And  yesterday,  when  you  got  John's  let- 
ter, you  came  in  a-glarin'  like  a  two-eyed  locomotive, 
and  I  could  'a'  swore  before  an  alderman  you  was  the 
man.  But  I  wasn't  quite  ready  to  come  out  on  you, 
fur  I  hadn't  got  my  accounts  all  squared  up.  But  I 
was  glad  I  waited,  for  the  way  you  looked  at  me  this 
day  while  you  was  eatin'  made  the  thing  as  sure  as  if 
you'd  gone  before  an  alderman  and  swore  it.  And 
here  I  am ;  and  there's  the  money  on  hand,  up  to  two 
o'clock  to-day  ;  and  inside  the  wallet  is  a  statement 
of  all  I've  took  in  and  all  I've  spent.  And  now  I'll 
come  to  the  p'int.  If  you've  got  any  reason  fur 
keepin'  yourself  hid  and  out  of  sight,  that's  your 
affair,  and  not  mine.  But  if  you  want  me  to  keep 
mum  about  it,  you've  got  to  come  to  my  terms,  and 
them's  these :  John  must  be  took  into  the  business, 
and  have  a  decent  share  of  the  profits ;  and  he's  not 
to  be  kep'  slavin'  at  it  neither,  but  he's  to  have  help 
enough  so's  he  can  git  off  now  and  then,  like  other 


154  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

people.  Fve  made  up  my  mind  that  he's  to  have  a 
clean  two  weeks  to  begin  with,  to  come  down  into  the 
country  to  see  his  mother  and  me.  That  trip  down 
South  ain't  to  be  counted  in  at  all.  He  didn't  git  no 
pleasure  out  of  it,  and  it  jus'  went  in  in  the  way  of 
business.  What  in  the  name  of  common  sense  made 
him  stick  to  you  as  he  has  stuck  is  more  than  I  can 
tell.  It's  out  and  out  beyond  me.  But  he's  got  to  be 
paid  for  it  now.  As  soon  as  he  comes  home  I'm  goin' 
to  set  the  whole  thing  fair  and  square  before  him, 
and  I'll  see  to  it  that  you  and  him  makes  out  the  right 
kind  of  a  contract.  Now,  then,  Jonathan  Stull,  you 
see  what's  before  you.  And  if  you  back  out,  and  say 
you  are  not  the  owner  of  Vatoldi's  —  well,  then,  by 
George  !  John  and  me  will  keep  the  place  and  run  it 
ourselves  until  the  real  owner  turns  up.  There's  the 
money ;  and  what  have  you  got  to  say  ? " 

Into  the  gloomy  ferocity  of  Mr.  Stull's  soul  there 
entered  a  gleam  of  satisfaction.  The  scheme  of  the 
old  man  was  not  one  of  simple  malicious  vengeance. 
He  wanted  something.  He  desired  to  make  a  bar- 
gain. This  showed  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  The 
bargain  could  be  entered  into,  and  everything  go  on 
as  before;  and  Mr.  Stull  had  confidence  enough  in 
his  own  ability  to  feel  sure  that  he  could  carry  out 
the  plan  of  vengeance  he  had  devised.  He  did  not 
strongly  object  to  giving  John  a  moderate  share  in 
the  business.  On  some  accounts  it  might  be  a  very 
wise  thing  to  do.  But,  whatever  arrangement  might 
be  made,  and  whatever  good  might  come  of  it,  he 
would  never  forgive  the  wretched  old  scoundrel  who 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  155 

had  ferreted  out  his  secret  and  forced  himself  into 
his  affairs. 

He  stood  up  suddenly,  almost  overturning  his  chair 
as  he  did  so.  Seizing  the  bulging  wallet  with  one 
hand,  he  waved  the  other  towards  the  door.  "  Now 
you  can  go  ! "  he  snarled  to  Enoch. 

Mr.  Bullripple  did  not  immediately  move.  "  HI  go 
whea  I'm  ready,"  he  said.  "  And,  as  Pve  nothin7 
more  to  say,  HI  go  now.  And  you  see  to  it,  Jonathan 
Stull,  when  I  come  to  you  about  that  contract,  that 
you're  ready  to  make  it." 

Thereupon  he  slowly  rose  and  went  out.  He  knew 
his  man  would  be  ready. 

The  next  evening,  Mr.  Bullripple  called  upon  Mr. 
Stratford  at  his  city  apartments  to  inform  that  gen- 
tleman that  he  and  Mrs.  People  would  return  next 
morning  to  the  farm-house,  where  they  would  be 
glad  to  welcome  their  friend  and  lodger  as  soon  as  he 
chose  to  return,  and  to  make  him  as  comfortable  as 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  be  in  their  house. 

"  We've  been  away  a  good  deal  longer  than  we 
expected,"  said  Enoch,  "  and  I  hope  you  didn't  feel 
yourself  druv  to  come  to  towo." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Mr.  Stratford.  "  I  should  have 
come  to  the  city  in  any  case.  But  how  have  you  suc- 
ceeded in  the  complicated  scheme  of  which  you  told 
me  the  other  day  ?  And  are  you  ready  to  show  me 
my  hundredth  man  ? " 

"  Oh,  I've  got  him !  I've  got  him ! "  cried  Enoch,  his 
eyes  sparkling.  "  But  the  mischief  of  it  is,  I  can't 
show  him  to  you.  It  would  jus'  tickle  me  to  death 


156  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

if  I  could  p'int  him  out,  but  things  is  fixed  so  it  can't 
be  done." 

"  I  suppose,  from  what  you  told  me  the  other  day," 
said  Stratford,  "  that  you  have  discovered  the  owner 
of  Vatoldi's." 

"  That's  the  f  eUer ! "  cried  Enoch.  "  And,  by  George ! 
he  squealed  when  I  made  him  come  out  of  his  hole. 
But  out  he  came,  and  I  fixed  it  all  right  with  him. 
And  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Stratford,  if  I  could  take  you 
where  that  man  is,  and  p'int  him  out,  and  let  you 
know  what  he's  done  and  what  he  didn't  do,  you'd 
say,  '  Enoch  Bullripple,  that's  my  hundredth  man, 
and  I  needn't  look  no  further.' " 

Mr.  Stratford  laughed.  "  And  yet  you  can't  show 
him  I "  said  he. 

"No,  sir,"  said  Enoch.  "Pve  agreed  to  let  him  go 
back  in  his  hole,  and  have  promised  not  to  rout  him 
out  no  more  so  long  as  he  sticks  to  what  he  says  ne'll 
do.  But  I've  made  a  pretty  good  thing  of  it  for  John. 
He's  to  have  a  share  in  the  business,  and  has  got 
to  be  treated  more  like  a  man  and  less  like  a  plow- 
horse." 

"  Did  John  agree  to  your  stepping  in  in  this  way," 
inquired  Stratford,  "  and  arranging  his  affairs  for  him 
in  this  extraordinary  fashion  ?  " 

"  He  couldn't  do  nothin'  else  but  agree  to  it,"  said 
Enoch.  "I  got  my  thumb  on  both  of  'em,  and  if 
either  of  'em  had  skipped  from  under,  all  I  had  to  do 
was  to  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  business,  and  to 
tell  you  and  everybody  else  what  I'd  found  out  ;  and 
that  would  'a'  knocked  the  eatin'  house  proprietor 
higher'n  a  kite.  And  John  knowed  it.  He  was  as 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  157 

mad  as  hops  when  he  got  back  last  night,  but  that 
didn't  hurt  nobody  5  and  this  afternoon  he  and  the 
other  feller  jus'  walked  up  to  the  scratch,  and  the 
contract  between  'em  was  signed  and  sealed.  And 
that's  why  me  and  Mrs.  People  is  goin'  home,  havin' 
no  more  to  do  here,  and  lots  to  do  there.  And  I  hope 
it  won't  be  long  before  you'll  be  comin'  too." 

"  You'll  see  me  in  a  day  or  two,"  said  Stratford ; 
"  and  it  strikes  me  that  you  needn't  trouble  yourself 
about  not  being  able  to  show  me  the  hundredth  man. 
I  am  not  sure  about  it,  but  I  expect  I  can  put  my 
finger  upon  him  before  very  long." 

"  Now  look  here,  Mr.  Stratford,"  said  Enoch,  a  little 
anxiously  j  "  if  you  do  find  him,  I  hope  it  won't  be  on 
account  of  any  thin'  I've  said.  I've  promised  to  keep 
him  shady,  and  I'm  not  a  man  to  go  back  on  my 
word." 

"  Be  perfectly  easy  on  that  point,"  said  Mr.  Strat- 
ford. "  I'm  not  thinking  of  the  owner  of  Vatoldi's, 
and  I  have  no  desire  to  seek  him  out." 

"  You  wouldn't  be  likely  to  find  him,  if  you  tried," 
said  Enoch,  rising  to  depart ;  "  and  I  can't  help  you. 
And  as  it's  my  opinion  there  ain't  no  other  one  like 
him,  I  advise  you  to  give  up  the  search  for  your 
hundredth  man." 


14 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HORTLY  after  Mr.  Stratford's  arrival 
in  the  city  he  was  called  upon  by  his 
friend  Arthur  Thorne,  who  had  a 
grievance. 

"Do  you    know/'   said    Thorne, 
"that  you  got  me  into  a    pretty 
scrape  up  there  at  Cherry  Bridge ? " 
"  How  so?"  asked  Stratford. 

"  By  not  telling  me  that  Miss  Armatt  was  engaged. 
When  you  told  me  that  you  were  not  her  lover,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  as  I  am  her  lover,  I  would 
win  her  if  I  could.  I  never  supposed  that  any  one 
else  was  in  the  way.  I  wrote  to  Mrs.  Justin  asking 
permission  to  go  there  and  push  my  suit,  and  I've 
had  a  letter  from  her  telling  me  that  for  more  than  a 
year  the  young  lady  has  been  engaged  to  be  married. 
Now,  what  a  position  is  this  for  me  to  place  myself 
in  ?  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that  she  was  engaged  ?  " 
"Because  I  do  not  approve  of  the  engagement," 
said  Stratford,  "  and  think  it  well  to  say  as  little  of 
it  as  possible." 

Mr.  Thorne  gazed  at  his  friend  in  amazement. 
"What  in  the  name  of  common  sense,"  he  asked, 
"have  you  to  do  with  it?  And  what  matters  it 

158 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  159 

whether  you  approve  of  it  or  not?  She  is  not  re- 
lated to  you  ? 77 

"  Not  in  any  way77  said  Stratford.  "  But  I  wish 
to  be  a  good  friend  to  her,  and,  at  least,  intend  to 
try  to  be.  And  now  let  me  tell  you  how  things 
stand.77  Thereupon  Stratford  proceeded  to  speak  of 
Gay  Armatt.  He  told  his  friend  what  sort  of  girl 
she  was,  what  her  career  had  been,  what  her  aspi- 
rations were,  and  what  her  future  ought  to  be.  He 
told  how  she  had  been  engaged,  while  yet  a  student, 
and  a  very  girl  in  all  social  matters,  to  a  man  whose 
marriage  with  her  would  degrade  her,  put  an  end 
to  her  mental  development,  and  make  only  a  hard- 
worked  housekeeper  of  one  who  now  had  everything 
to  hope  for  that  was  open  to  a  woman.  He  proceed- 
ed to  say  that  he  believed  that  the  girl  should  be 
saved  from  such  a  fate ;  and  that,  as  there  was  no 
one  else  to  do  it,  he  intended  to  save  her  himself,  if 
possible.  And  then  he  detailed  his  plans  regarding 
Miss  Armatt. 

"  By  which  you  mean,77  cried  Arthur,  when  he  had 
finished,  "  that  you  intend  to  break  off  this  engage- 
ment, and  then  marry  her  yourself." 

Stratford  shook  his  head.  "I  shall  do  nothing  of 
the  kind.  If  the  engagement  comes  to  an  end,  as  I 
hope  it  may,  I  shall  greatly  desire  that  Miss  Armatt 
shall  marry  some  man  worthy  of  her ;  and  all  that  I 
shall  do  will  be  to  endeavor  to  carry  her  over  the  gap 
between  the  present  engagement  and  one  which  shall 
be  suitable." 

"  Monstrous  ! 77  cried  Arthur.  "  You  might  as  well 
try  to  break  up  a  marriage  because  you  think  the  man 


160  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

and  his  wife  are  not  suited  to  each  other  j  and  I  am 
surprised  to  hear  you  speak  as  you  have  done  about 
a  wife's  position  as  mistress  of  her  house.  There  is 
no  nobler  place  for  a  woman.  I  have  no  doubt  Miss 
Armatt  looks  forward  with  most  joyous  anticipations 
to  those  household  duties  and  pleasures  which  you 
have  decided  that  she  ought  not  to  have." 

"  You  do  not  grasp  the  situation/'  said  Stratford. 
"  I  know  exactly  what  Miss  Armatt  looks  forward 
to.  She  expects  to  be  mistress  of  a  household,  and 
to  be  happy  in  that  position.  Her  hopes  in  this  direc- 
tion are  vague  and  ill-defined,  while  her  views  in 
regard  to  her  future  intellectual  life  are  as  clear  and 
definite  as  those  of  any  brain-worker  who  ever  lived. 
But  she  does  not  know,  as  I  do,  that  her  marriage 
with  Crisman  will  totally  wreck  this  intellectual  life, 
and  make  her  a  disappointed  and  unhappy  woman." 

Thorne  arose  suddenly,  and  began  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  room.  "  It  angers  me,"  he  said,  "  to  hear 
you  talk  in  this  way.  How  on  earth  do  you  know 
what  her  life  will  be  ?  Is  she  not  a  rational  being, 
able  to  plan  out  such  things  for  herself  ?  " 

"  She  is  not  as  able  to  do  it  as  I  am,"  said  Strat- 
ford ;  "for  she  does  not  know  Crisman  as  I  know  him." 

For  answer  Mr.  Thorne  snapped  his  fingers,  and 
then  laughed  derisively.  "  I  speak  mildly,"  he  said, 
"  when  I  call  this  a  most  unusual  way  of  getting  a 
wife.  It  is  courtship  after  the  eagle  and  fish-hawk 
fashion." 

"  I  tell  you,"  said  Stratford,  turning  sharply  upon 
him,  "that  I  have  no  intention  of  making  love  to  or 
of  marrying  Miss  Armatt." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  161 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  asked  Thorne,  stopping  in 
his  restless  walk,  "that  if  you  succeed  in  convincing 
this  girl  that  there  are  much  better  men  in  the  world 
than  the  man  she  is  engaged  to,  and  a  much  better 
kind  of  love  than  the  love  which  exists  between  him 
and  her,  and  that  there  is  for  her  a  happiness  which 
is  far  greater  than  anything  she  could  expect  if  she 
married  Crisman,  and  in  this  way  break  off  the 
match — do  you  mean  to  say,  I  ask,  that  you  would 
then  be  willing  for  another  man  to  step  in,  myself, 
for  instance,  and  try  to  win  her  ? " 

"  Entirely  willing/7  said  Stratford.  "  Nothing  would 
please  me  better  than  to  see  her  married  to  you." 

Thorne  burst  out  into  a  loud,  contemptuous  laugh, 
and  taking  up  his  hat,  he  walked  away  without  a 
word.  Never  since  he  had  been  a  man  had  he  been 
guilty  of  such  a  breach  of  good  manners. 

Stratford  was  left  with  his  temper  somewhat 
aroused,  but  it  soon  cooled  down.  He  was  discov- 
ering that  he  could  not  expect  sympathy  in  the  task 
he  had  undertaken. 

Arthur  Thorne  did  not  so  soon  cool  down.  It  was 
not  very  easy  to  warm  him  up  ;  but  when  he  became 
heated,  the  reduction  of  his  mental  temperature  was 
generally  a  slow  process.  He  was  angry  with  Strat- 
ford. He  had  persuaded  himself,  since  the  receipt  of 
the  letter  from  Mrs.  Justin,  that,  as  an  honorable 
man,  he  had  given  up,  absolutely  and  utterly,  all 
amatory  ideas  in  regard  to  Miss  Armatt.  She  be- 
longed to  another  person,  and  he  had  no  right  even  to 
think  of  her  in  that  sort  of  way.  It  was  very  hard 
for  him  to  do  this,  for  the  girl  had  made  an  impres- 


162  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

sion  on  him  such  as  he  had  never  received  before. 
He  believed  that  it  was  his  duty  to  marry,  and  he 
wanted  to  marry  j  and  when  he  was  living  in  the 
house  with  Miss  Armatt,  and  his  friend  Stratford  had 
told  him  that  he  had  no  matrimonial  intentions  toward 
her,  it  had  come  to  him  much  more  forcibly  than 
things  usually  came  to  him,  that  here  was  the  woman 
out  of  all  the  world  whom  he  would  like  to  make  his 
wife.  But  he  believed  he  had  been  torn  from  every 
thought  of  this  kind,  and  had  gone  to  Stratford 
merely  with  the  intention  of  mildly  upbraiding  him 
for  having  allowed  him  to  put  himself  in  a  false  posi- 
tion. 

But  now,  as  has  been  said,  he  was  very  angry  with 
his  friend,  and  the  more  he  thought  of  it,  the  more 
he  thought  he  perceived  a  very  strong  element  of 
jealousy  in  this  anger.  But  why  should  he  have 
feelings  of  jealousy  in  regard  to  Miss  Armatt  ?  He 
had  no  right  to  such  feelings,  and  could  have  none. 
It  was  a  vile  and  wretched  state  of  affairs,  and  Strat- 
ford had  led  him  into  it.  Therefore  was  he  angry. 

It  was  on  a  Tuesday  morning,  and  several  days 
after  Mr.  Stratford  had  concluded  the  business  which 
brought  him  to  town,  that  Miss  Gay  Armatt  sat  on 
the  porch  of  the  Cherry  Bridge  house  writing  a  letter. 
The  paper  lay  upon  a  portfolio  on  her  lap,  and  on  the 
floor  by  her  side  stood  her  little  traveling  inkstand 
with  its  two  tops  open  at  angles  which  invited  upset 
on  the  slightest  provocation.  She  was  writing  very 
slowly,  stopping  often  to  think  what  she  should  say. 
She  wished  to  be  very  careful  to  make  this  letter 
exactly  what  it  ought  to  be,  for  it  was  to  go  to  Mr. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  163 

Stratford,  and  it  was  the  first  one  she  had  ever  writ- 
ten to  him.  Her  work,  although  slow,  did  not  seem 
to  be  irksome  to  her ;  on  the  contrary,  she  appeared 
very  much  interested  in  it.  "Whenever  she  held  her 
pen  motionless,  raised  a  little  above  the  paper,  and 
gazed  up  into  the  trees  or  the  vines  about  her,  there 
came  into  her  eyes  a  brightness,  and  on  her  cheeks  a 
faint  deepening  of  their  warmer  tones,  which  made 
those  eyes  and  cheeks  more  charming  than  in  ordinary 
times,  while  her  lips  moved  as  though  she  might 
smile  or  speak  or  even  hum  a  tune  before  she  began 
to  write  again.  On  the  tulip  poplar  near  by,  there 
sat  a  little  bird  which  looked  very  like  the  bird  to 
which,  not  long  ago,  she  had  told  the  secret  of  her 
birthday.  If  it  had  been  truly  the  same  bird,  it 
would  have  been  easy  to  imagine  that  his  little  breast 
was  filled  with  wonder  that  that  young  creature  sit- 
ting down  there,  in  the  shade,  and  in  the  fragrance 
of  the  honeysuckle  vines,  writing  a  letter  on  her 
knee,  could  be  really  twenty-one  years  old,  and  a  very 
woman. 

If  the  little  bird  could  have  looked  into  her  brain, 
he  would  have  seen  that  it  was  stored  with  the  result 
of  years  of  study  and  conscientious  intellectual  work ; 
and  if  he  could  have  looked  into  her  heart,  he  would 
have  seen  that  it  was  filled  with  impulses  and  emo- 
tions which  were  truly  womanly.  But  could  he  have 
known  her  cheerful,  half -blown  notions  about  men, 
women,  and  the  world,  and  could  he  have  understood 
that  joyousness  of  disposition  which  sprang  from 
lovers7  words,  or  woodbine  scents,  or  clusters  of  wild 
strawberries,  he  might  have  said  to  himself  that  many 


164  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

a  wiser  bird  than  he  would  think  that  this  young 
creature,  writing  a  letter  in  the  shade  of  the  vines, 
was  mistaken  in  supposing  that  she  was  no  longer  a 
girl. 

Gay  had  heard  only  the  evening  before  that  Mr. 
Stratford  had  returned  to  the  Cherry  Bridge  neigh- 
borhood ;  and  as  she  had  something  to  say  to  him, 
she  thought  it  her  duty  to  write  without  loss  of  time : 
and  that  it  was  a  duty  she  did  not  in  the  least  shrink 
from  might  easily  have  been  perceived  by  any  human 
being  or  bird  capable  of  making  deductions  of  this 
kind.  Mr.  Crisman  had  been  with  her  on  the  pre- 
vious Sunday ;  and  she  had  noticed,  or  had  thought 
she  noticed,  that  he  was  a  little,  a  very  little,  wearied 
by  what  he  called  the  monotony  of  the  country. 
Now  she  was  very  desirous  that  he  should  not  become 
wearied  by  Cherry  Bridge.  This  was  a  region  which 
could  never  be  monotonous  to  her,  but  she  could 
easily  see  that  it  might  be  so  to  Charley.  He  spent 
no  whole  day  there  except  Sunday,  and  there  was  so 
little  a  person  of  his  tastes  could  do  in  this  part  of 
the  country  on  Sunday.  He  was  fond  of  fishing,  but 
he  arrived  too  late  on  Saturday  afternoons  for  any 
diversion  of  that  sort ;  and,  besides,  he  had  told  her 
that  he  did  not  like  to  go  wandering  about  by  him- 
self with  a  fishing  rod.  If  there  were  pleasant  fellows 
along,  that  was  Another  thing,  but  solitary  fishing  was 
too  lonesome  a  business  for  him.  He  might  sometimes 
stay  over  Monday  for  a  day's  fishing  ;  but  as  there 
was  no  one  to  go  with  him,  there  was  no  use  talking 
about  it.  Gay  offered  to  go  with  him  herself;  but 
he  laughed  at  her  in  a  very  good-humored  and  su- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  165 

perior  way,  and  told  her  that  if  he  ever  found  a  stream 
where  the  fish  were  too  plentiful  and  needed  to  be 
frightened  and  made  gamesome,  he  would  take  her. 
She  assured  him  that  Mr.  Stratford  told  her  that  she 
could,  in  time,  learn  to  fish  very  well;  but  at  this 
Crisman  laughed  again,  and  said  that  Stratford  prob- 
ably did  not  know  women  as  well  as  he  did.  When 
it  came  to  a  real  day's  fishing,  he  thought  that  Mis- 
tress Gay  would  be  much  better  pleased  in  a  ham- 
mock on  the  lawn,  with  a  novel  and  a  box  of 
caramels. 

Gay  did  not  dispute  this  point,  for  she  knew  that 
Charley  was  not  fond  of  having  his  propositions  con- 
troverted, and  she  herself  took  no  pleasure  in  argu- 
ments ;  but  she  said  she  did  not  doubt  that  Mr.  Strat- 
ford would  go  fishing  with  him,  and  he  could  have 
no  better  companion,  for  that  gentleman  knew  the 
country  so  well  he  could  take  him  where  the  best 
fishing  was  to  be  found.  This  proposal  suited  Mr. 
Crisman  very  well.  If  Stratford  would  go  with  him, 
he  would  make  his  arrangements  to  stay  up  some 
Monday,  and  have  a  long  day's  tramp  among  the 
trout  streams.  Gay  said  she  would  ask  Mr.  Stratford 
about  it  as  soon  as  he  came  back;  and  when  she 
heard  of  his  return,  she  did  not  wait  until  he  should 
call  on  them,  but  set  herself  to  work  to  write  him  a 
letter. 

The  letter,  when  finished,  was  a  very  good  one, 
and  explained  the  situation  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
Gay  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Justin  to  read,  who  was  surprised 
when  told  it  had  been  written,  but  who,  on  reading  it, 
could  find  nothing  in  it  to  which  reasonable  objection 


166  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

could  be  made.  On  general  principles  she  objected  to 
Gay's  writing  to  Mr.  Stratford  on  any  subject,  or  in 
any  manner  whatever.  But  as  this  was  really  Mr. 
Oisman's  affair,  and  as  he  had  desired  that  Gay 
should  write  the  letter,  Mrs.  Justin  of  course  had  no 
right  to  interfere.  She  read  the  neatly  written  pages 
a  second  time,  but  she  could  discover  nothing  in  them 
which  would  lead  the  recipient  to  suppose  that  the 
writer  thought  of  aught  else  but  that  her  lover  should 
have  a  pleasant  day's  fishing,  with  an  agreeable  com- 
panion and  competent  guide. 

Gay  was  anxious  that  her  epistle  should  be  dis- 
patched as  soon  as  possible,  because,  if  Mr.  Stratford 
would  go  fishing  on  the  following  Monday,  she  wanted 
to  write  immediately  and  let  Mr.  Crisman  know.  Mrs. 
Justin  said  she  was  going  to  send  a  man  to  the  vil- 
lage, and  that  he  could  ride  on  and  take  the  letter  to 
Mr.  Stratford.  Gay  went  back  to  the  porch  to  put  it 
into  an  envelope  and  address  it,  and  when  she  was 
pressing  it  down  on  her  portfolio  while  sealing  it,  a 
thought  came  into  her  head.  Taking  up  her  pen,  she 
wrote  on  the  back  of  the  envelope:  "  Are  you  ever  com- 
ing to  see  us  again  ? n  When  the  man  came  she  gave 
him  the  note,  and  he  rode  away. 

At  luncheon  time  the  returning  messenger  brought 
back  an  answer.  Mr.  Stratford  wrote  that  he  would 
be  much  pleased  to  accompany  Mr.  Crisman  on  a  fish- 
ing excursion  on  the  day  proposed,  and  he  felt  under 
obligations  to  Miss  Armatt  for  giving  him  this  oppor- 
tunity of  serving  her  friend.  It  was  a  very  pleasant 
note,  and  a  very  polite  one ;  but  when  Gay  had  read 
it  through,  there  was  a  shade  of  disappointment  on 
her  face. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  167 

"  He  doesn't  say  a  word,"  she  exclaimed,  "  about 
coming  to  see  us  !" 

Mrs.  Justin  was  a  little  surprised  that  Gay  should 
expect  any  such  word,  and  she  remarked  that  prob- 
ably Mr.  Stratford  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  an- 
nounce any  intention  of  that  kind. 

The  fishing  expedition  came  off  the  following  Mon- 
day j  and  in  order  to  stay  out  of  town  for  that  day, 
Mr.  Crisman  came  to  Cherry  Bridge  on  Sunday,  in- 
stead of  Saturday,  as  was  his  custom.  This  made  his 
visit  to  Gay  a  comparatively  short  one ;  but  as  she 
was  easily  brought  to  see  that  putting  on  time  to  one 
end  of  his  visit  made  it  necessary  to  take  off  some 
from  the  other,  she  did  not  complain. 

Mr.  Stratford's  motives  in  agreeing  to  the  proposal 
for  a  day's  fishing  were  of  varied  kinds.  He  had  no 
particular  desire  to  gratify  the  piscatorial  propensities 
of  Mr.  Crisman,  but  he  was  more  than  willing  to  do 
anything  which  should  be  asked  of  him  by  Miss  Ar- 
matt.  But  his  principal  object  in  consenting  to  be 
Mr.  Crisman's  companion  for  a  whole  day  was  to 
give  that  young  man  an  opportunity  of  changing 
the  opinion  which  he  had  formed  of  him.  u  It  may 
be,"  Stratford  had  said  to  himself,  "  that  I  am  mis- 
taken in  my  estimate  of  the  man.  There  may  be 
qualities  in  him  which  will  counterbalance  those  to 
which  I  so  greatly  object.  At  present  he  is  very  com- 
monplace and  vulgar  j  but  his  nature  may  be  weaker 
than  I  take  it  to  be,  and  he  may  be  susceptible  to  the 
impressions  which  Gay  would  make  upon  almost  any 
one,  and  thereby  be  drawn  under  her  influence.  If 
there  is  a  possibility  of  anything  of  that  kind,  the 


168  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

marriage  may  be  well  enough.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  she  could  elevate  him  very  much,  but 
she  might  raise  him  high  enough  to  enter  with  some 
sort  of  sympathy  into  her  pursuits  and  purposes.  He 
must  always  be  a  drag  upon  her,  but  he  might  not 
be  able  to  pull  her  down.  And,  again,  he  may  have 
points  which  are  so  good  in  themselves  as  to  overbal- 
ance some  of  the  bad  ones  I  have  noticed  in  him.  If 
that  be  the  case,  I  will  let  Mrs.  Justin  and  Thorne 
have  their  way.  If  there  is  anything  good  in  the 
man,  it  is  bound  to  come  out  in  the  course  of  a 
day's  tramp." 

Stratford  was  perfectly  honest  in  his  intentions 
towards  his  companion.  He  did  not  like  Crisman, 
and  would  have  been  sorry,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  see  him  married  to  Gay,  whose  nature  was  of  an 
entirely  different  order  from  that  of  her  lover.  But 
if  there  was  any  reason  to  believe  that  the  marriage 
would  not  prove  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  which  he 
thought  so  much  and  spoke  so  frequently,  then  he 
would  consider  it  his  duty  not  to  interfere  with  the 
course  events  were  taking.  He  did  not  intend  during 
this  day  with  Crisman  to  be  a  spy  upon  him ;  in  fact, 
he  made  up  his  mind  to  avoid  saying  or  doing  any- 
thing which  would  be  calculated  to  bring  into  view 
the  bad  points  of  the  young  man;  he  had  seen  enough 
of  them,  and  desired  to  know  no  more  concerning 
them.  What  he  would  make  it  his  business  to  dis- 
cover was  the  good  that  might  be  in  Crisman. 

The  day  was  an  admirable  one  for  trout  fishing. 
The  sky  was  slightly  overspread  by  clouds;  there  was 
breeze  enough,  and  none  too  much;  and  if  Crisman 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  169 

had  been  a  fellow  inclined  to  grumble,  which  he  was 
not,  he  would  have  found  no  reason  for  discontent 
this  day.  He  had  not  known  before  what  an  agreeable 
and  talkative  companion  Stratford  could  be,  and  what 
a  generous  fellow  too,  as  was  shown  by  his  constantly 
surrendering  favorable  fishing  opportunities  to  the 
younger  man.  There  was  another  thing  which  Cris- 
man  very  much  liked  in  Stratford :  he  obtruded  no 
advice.  Crisman  had  not  had  very  much  practice  with 
the  rod  and  fly,  and  his  only  mental  objection,  when 
Gay  proposed  this  expedition,  was  founded  on  the 
fear  that  Stratford,  whom  he  knew  to  be  a  skillful 
angler,  would  be  continually  telling  him  what  he 
ought  to  do.  Stratford  had  too  much  good  feeling, 
as  well  as  tact,  for  this.  He  knew  that  the  young 
man  had  come  out  for  a  day's  fishing,  and  not  a  day's 
teaching  j  and  he  felt  quite  sure,  too,  that  Crisman 
was  not  the  man  to  submit  to  the  presumption  that 
teaching  was  necessary.  So  they  got  on  capitally 
together,  each  fishing  in  his  own  way,  and  Crisman 
catching  a  good  many  trout,  and  rejoicing  a  great 
deal  in  his  fortune. 

About  the  middle  of  the  day  they  sat  down  in  the 
shade  of  a  great  pine-tree  to  rest  and  eat  the  luncheon 
they  had  brought  with  them.  When  Crisman  had 
satisfied  his  appetite,  which  was  a  very  fine  one,  he 
lighted  a  cigar  and  stretched  himself  upon  the  ground, 
covered  thickly  with  sweet-scented  pine  needles,  to 
have  a  smoke  and  enjoy  the  situation.  Stratford  sat 
near  by,  looking  upon  the  young  man  with  an  expres- 
sion in  which  there  was  an  odd  mixture  of  kindly 
feeling  and  antipathy.  He  had  found  in  Crisman 

15 


170  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

much  of  that  buoyant  good  nature  which  was  so 
noticeable  in  Gay,  and  it  seemed  difficult  to  believe 
that  under  any  circumstances  he  would  be  aught  but 
a  cheery  and  heartening  companion;  and  this  dis- 
position should  count  against  a  great  many  short- 
comings in  a  matrimonial  partner.  But  at  the  same 
time  there  was  an  air  of  self-assertion  about  Crisman 
which  was  unpleasant  to  the  other.  There  was  no 
occasion  for  his  asserting  himself  against  anything, 
or  in  favor  of  anything  ;  and  this  assertion  seemed 
to  be  a  habit  consequent  upon  a  belief  in  a  man's  right 
to  demand  from  others  a  recognition  of  his  merits. 
His  theories,  his  creeds,  and  his  prejudices  were 
placed,  so  to  speak,  in  his  shop  window,  and  he  stood 
at  his  door  calling  upon  the  passers-by  to  look  upon 
them. 

"  There's  something  very  jolly  and  independent  in 
all  this,"  said  Crisman,  as  he  unlaced  and  kicked  off 
one  of  his  heavy  boots.  "  There  are  no  bonds  of 
slavery  here  ;  no  goods  to  sell,  no  books  to  keep,  no 
customers,  no  firm,  no  women." 

"  Do  you  number  women  among  your  bonds  of 
slavery?"  asked  Stratford. 

"  That  depends,"  answered  Crisman.  "  There  are 
moments  when  a  woman  is  a  good  deal  of  a  clog. 
For  instance,  if  we  had  brought  the  ladies  with  us,  I 
could  not  have  made  myself  comfortable  by  kicking 
off  that  boot." 

"  Very  true,"  said  Stratford. 

"I  don't  want  you  to  think,"  continued  Crisman, 
after  a  puff  of  tobacco  smoke  had  leisurely  curled 
itself  up  from  his  mouth,  as  he  lay  stretched  upon  his 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  171 

back,  his  head  resting  on  his  coat,  which  he  had 
rolled  up  for  a  pillow,  "  that  I  have  anything  to  say 
against  women.  I  am  the  last  man  in  the  world  to 
do  that.  I  suppose  you  know  I  am  going  to  marry, 
and  one  of  the  finest  human  beings  to  be  found 
on  this  planet  will  be  my  wife.  If  you  knew  Miss 
Gay  Armatt  as  I  know  her,  you'd  agree  to  that." 

"  I  agree  perfectly/'  said  Stratford. 

"  I  truly  believe,"  continued  Crismau,  "  that  there 
isn't  a  girl  like  her.  I  am  not  fool  enough  to  say  she 
is  absolutely  perfect, — an  angel  all  but  the  wings, — 
but  I  will  say  this :  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
way  she  has  been  over-educated, — and  that,  in  my 
opinion,  was  the  fault  of  other  people  more  than  her 
own,  —  she  can't  be  improved  upon." 

"  Over-educated  ? "  remarked  Stratford. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Crisman  ;  "  that's  exactly  the  word. 
She  spent  four  solid  years  in  learning  things  which  will 
be  of  no  more  use  to  her  than  another  pair  of  legs 
would  be  to  that  bird  which  you  see  flying  up 
there.  When  she  entered  her  college  she  was  seven- 
teen years  old,  and  as  well  educated  as  any  girl  on 
earth  need  want  to  be  ;  and  yet  she  has  wasted  four 
years  of  her  life  in  slaving  at  mathematics,  Latin,  and 
Greek,  and  I  don't  know  what  else  besides,  which  are 
of  no  use  whatever  to  a  woman  who  expects  to  be  a 
wife  and  a  mother  and  the  head  of  a  family.  I  don't 
say  this  to  Gay,  because  it  is  done  now  and  can't  be 
helped,  and  there's  no  use  raking  up  trouble  about  it. 
And  I  don't  say  it  to  Mrs.  Justin,  because  she  had  a 
very  large  finger  in  the  pie,  having  pushed  Gay  on  in 
this  college  business  more  than  anybody  else.  But  I 


172  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

say  it  to  you,  because  you  are  a  man,  and  can  under- 
stand how  I  feel  about  it.  I  speak  warmly  on  this 
matter,  because  I  know  lots  of  other  girls  who  are 
going  on  in  the  same  way  Gay  has  gone,  and  I 
think  it's  a  shame  that  they  are  allowed  to  waste  a 
good  part  of  their  lives  in  stuffing  their  minds  with 
what  to  them  is  no  more  than  dead  leaves  and  ashes. 
Now,  look  at  Gay  Armatt.  You  wouldn't  believe  it, 
but  she's  twenty-one  years  old,  and  she  might  as  well 
have  been  married  three  years  ago.  In  that  case  she 
wouldn't  have  married  me,  because  I  didn't  know  her 
then;  but  that  doesn't  alter  the  principle  of  the 
thing.  Now,  allow  one  year  for  courting,  just  look 
at  the  four  years  of  absolute  happiness  that  have 
been  taken  out  of  her  life  by  this  absurdity  of  send- 
ing her  to  college.  If  it  had  been  really  necessary 
for  her  to  earn  her  living  as  a  teacher,  that  would 
have  been  another  thing  •  but  her  friends  ought  to 
have  known  that  for  a  girl  like  her  there  would  be 
no  necessity  for  anything  of  that  kind.  And  that's 
the  case  with  nine-tenths  of  the  girls  who  go  to  col- 
lege. They  don't  intend  to  be  teachers  ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  get  themselves  graduated  they  begin  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  things  which  really  concern  them,  and 
forget  all  they  have  been  taught  at  college  in  a  con- 
founded sight  less  time  than  it  took  them  to  learn  it. 
The  education  that  sticks  to  them  is  what  they  got 
before  they  went  to  college.  Now,  I  want  you  to 
understand  I'm  not  saying  anything  against  Gay 
Armatt.  She  has  lost  a  lot  of  time,  but  that  can't  be 
helped;  and  what  she  has  learned  isn't  going  to  hurt 
her.  She  talks  a  great  deal  about  keeping  up  her 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  173 

studies  after  we  are  married,  and  making  herself 
mistress  of  this  and  that  thing  which  I  don't  under- 
stand, and  which,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  never  tried  to. 
I  don't  say  a  word  against  all  this,  but  just  leave  it 
to  her  own  good  sense  to  find  out  that  when  she  has 
got  her  hands  full  of  what  makes  up  a  woman's  real 
work  in  this  world,  she  will  have  to  give  these  other 
things  the  go-by." 

uBut  suppose  she  does  not  see  that  for  herself?7' 
asked  Stratford. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Crisman,  sitting  up  and  throw- 
ing away  his  cigar,  "  I  am  one  of  the  most  indulgent 
men  in  the  world,  and  an  easier-going  temper  than 
mine  you  won't  meet  with  often  ;  but  if  I  had  a  wife 
who  didn't  see  that  her  true  duty  in  life  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  higher  mathematics  and  Greek  verbs, 
Fd  make  it  my  business  that  she  did  see  it.  There 
won't  be  anything  of  this  kind  necessary  with  Gay, 
because  she's  not  the  sort  of  girl  to  want  to  make  my 
life  miserable  by  poking  among  rubbish  of  that  sort. 
When  she  knows  I  don't  like  it,  she'll  stop  it." 

At  that  moment  a  drinking-cup  of  glass  which 
Stratford  had  been  holding  in  his  hand  came  heavily 
to  the  ground. 

"  Anything  broken  ?  "  asked  Crisman,  with  a  quick 
turn  of  his  head. 

11  Yes,"  said  Stratford,  rising ;  "  I  think  there  is." 

Crisman  looked  at  the  fragments  of  the  cup,  and 
laughingly  remarking  that  that  was  a  case  past  mend- 
ing, put  on  his  coat,  and  took  up  his  rod  and  basket. 


CHAPTER   XIV 


HEN  Mr.  Crisman,  towards  the  end 
of  the  afternoon,  returned  from  his 
fishing  excursion,  he  was  seen  afar 
by  Miss  Gay,  who  ran  to  meet  him. 
As  she  came  up  to  him  she  first 
inquired  why  Mr.  Stratford  had  not 
come  back  with  him,  and  then  asked 
if  he  had  had  a  good  day's  sport.  She  might  have 
asked  the  second  question  first  had  it  not  been,  in 
fact,  only  a  matter  of  form ;  for  she  saw  in  her  lovers 
face  and  demeanor  that  he  had  been  enjoying  himself. 
"  Success  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  should  say  so ! " 
And  he  lifted  the  lid  of  his  basket.  "  Look  at  that ! 
I  should  have  caught  a  lot  more,  for  they  were  rising 
just  as  well  as  ever,  but  Stratford  said  we  had  all  that 
the  two  families  could  possibly  eat,  and  he  didn't  see 
the  use  of  catching  any  more.  That  is  not  my  way, 
for  when  I  go  fishing,  I  go  to  catch  all  I  can  get  and 
make  a  big  count  j  but,  of  course,  as  I  was  using  his 
tackle  and  things,  I  didn't  press  the  matter,  and  we 
stopped  an  hour  or  two  sooner  than  there  was  any 
need  to.  I  did  suggest  that  he  should  come  back 
with  me,  but  he  didn't  seem  to  take  to  the  idea." 

Gay  thought  that  when  people  had  caught  all  the 
fish  for  which  they  had  any  use,  it  was  a  very  sensible 

174 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  175 

and  humane  thing  to  stop  fishing.  And  she  thought, 
moreover,  that  Mr.  Stratford  appeared  to  have  good 
ideas  on  a  great  many  different  subjects ;  but  she  did 
not  speak  her  thoughts.  She  had  no  doubt  that,  as 
Charley  grew  older,  he  would  discover  for  himself  a 
great  many  of  the  things  which  Mr.  Stratford  had 
discovered  for  himself. 

At  dinner  that  evening  the  apparent  disinclination 
of  Mr.  Stratford  to  visit  at  Cherry  Bridge  was  men- 
tioned both  by  Gay  and  Crisman  ;  and  although  Mrs. 
Justin  passed  the  matter  over  without  comment,  her 
mind  was  a  good  deal  disturbed.  It  was  an  abnormal 
and  exceedingly  unpleasant  state  of  affairs  when  her 
old  friend  Stratford  lived  at  the  Bullripple  farm  and 
did  not  come  to  Cherry  Bridge.  Not  only  did  Mrs. 
Justin  regret  it  because  it  deprived  her  of  the  com- 
pany of  her  friend,  but  she  feared  very  much  that 
Stratford's  absence  might  be  noticed,  and  that  the 
people  in  the  neighborhood  might  connect  it  in  some 
way  with  Gay's  presence  at  Cherry  Bridge.  Gossip 
of  this  sort  would  be  painful  and  even  abhorrent  to 
Mrs.  Justin,  and  she  determined  to  put  an  end  to  what 
she  considered  a  very  unnatural  condition  of  things. 

After  Mr.  Crisman's  departure  the  next  morning, 
she  drove  herself  over  to  the  Bullripple  farm,  where 
she  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  Mr.  Stratford  mend- 
ing some  fishing-tackle  under  the  shade  of  a  great 
oak  in  the  front  yard. 

"  I  have  come  to  have  a  very  plain  talk  with  you," 
she  said. 

"  I  am  glad  of  it,"  said  Stratford  j  "and  here  is  the 
easiest  outdoor  chair  the  place  affords." 


176  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  It  may  not  be  a  very  long  conversation,"  she  said, 
"  for  I  hope  you  will  readily  agree  with  me  that  it  is 
absolutely  wrong,  from  whatever  point  it  may  be 
looked  at,  for  an  old  friend,  such  as  you  are,  to  live 
so  near  my  house  without  visiting  it.  Of  course  I 
know  the  reason ;  but  I  don't  think  there  ought  to 
be  any  such  reason.  I  trust  you  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  you  are  altogether  mistaken  in  your 
ideas  about  the  engagement  of  Mr.  Crisman  and  Gay, 
and  that  you  no  longer  think  it  your  duty  to  inter- 
fere in  the  matter.  That  being  the  case,  I  am  most 
anxious  to  tell  you  how  earnestly  I  desire  that  you 
should  visit  my  house  as  you  used  to,  and  be  the 
same  good  friend  to  all  of  us  that  you  once  were." 

Mrs.  Justin  leaned  forward  as  she  spoke,  and  there 
was  a  touch  of  moisture  in  her  beautiful  eyes. 

Stratford  looked  at  her  steadily  for  a  moment 
before  he  spoke.  "  Mrs.  Justin,"  he  said,  "  you  can- 
not imagine  what  pain  it  gives  me  to  hear  you  speak 
in  that  way,  and  to  answer  you  as  I  must." 

"  It  often  seems  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  drawing 
herself  a  little  back,  "  that  when  persons  do  things 
that  not  only  give  themselves  pain  but  greatly  grieve 
their  friends,  it  should  be  self-evident  that  the  way 
to  make  everybody  happy  is  to  stop  doing  those 
things." 

Stratford  smiled.  "  That  quick  way  out  of  trouble 
will  not  answer  in  this  case.  I  have  the  greatest  pos- 
sible desire  to  visit  your  house,  but  I  must  also  state 
that  since  our  last  conversation  your  views  and  mine 
concerning  Miss  Armatt's  engagement  have  become 
more  widely  different  than  they  were  before.  I  now 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  177 

believe  that  it  would  be  an  actual  crime  to  allow  that 
man  to  marry  her." 

"  And  you  still  persist/'  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  in  your 
intention  of  endeavoring  to  win  her  away  from  him." 

"  If  the  end  can  be  accomplished  in  no  other  way, 
I  most  certainly  do,"  said  Stratford. 

"  Then,  of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  her  face  pal- 
ing a  little  as  she  spoke,  "  it  will  not  do  for  you  to 
visit  Cherry  Bridge  while  Gay  is  there." 

She  made  a  motion  as  if  she  were  about  to  rise, 
but  Stratford  quickly  said :  "  Do  not  go.  There  is 
much  more  I  wish  to  say  to  you." 

She  kept  her  seat,  and,  leaning  back  in  her  chair, 
she  sighed.  "  Oh,"  she  said,  "  if  you  would  only  tell 
me  that  you  had  determined  to  let  these  two  be  happy 
in  their  own  way,  how  thankful  I  should  be  ! " 

"I  have  been  thinking  over  this  matter  a  very 
great  deal,"  said  Stratford^  and  if  you  will  be  will- 
ing to  join  with  me  in  what  I  wish  to  do,  I  will  make 
an  entire  change  in  my  plan." 

"  Join  you  ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Justin. 

"  That  is  exactly  what  I  mean,"  he  continued.  "  I 
want  you  to  help  me  save  this  girl — your  friend, 
whose  promise  and  worth  you  know  so  thoroughly — 
from  an  absolutely  unfit  marriage." 

"  Mr.  Stratford,"  said  she,  "  you  know  very  well 
that  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  hand  than  to  try  to 
make  a  girl  and  a  young  man  break  the  solemn  prom- 
ises that  they  have  made  to  each  other,  especially 
when  I  know  that  they  love  each  other  with  all  their 
hearts." 

"I  have  believed,"  said  Stratford,  "and  still  be- 


178  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

lieve,  that  the  very  best  way  of  making  Gay  Armatt 
understand  the  wrong  position  she  has  taken  in 
engaging  herself  to  Crisman  is  to  give  her  an  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  acquainted  with  other  men  j  and 
I  do  not  think  I  have  nattered  myself  very  much 
when  I  drew  her  attention  to  myself  as  a  better  man 
than  Crisman.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  to  you  that 
I  believe  that,  had  I  the  opportunity,  I  coukj  make 
her  understand  what  a  companionship  for  life  ought 
to  be,  and  that  she  could  never  expect  such  a  com- 
panionship in  Crisman." 

"  It  is  perfectly  horrible  to  hear  you  talk  that  way," 
said  Mrs.  Justin. 

"  But  I  do  not  intend  to  insist,"  said  Stratford, 
"that  this  plan  of  mine  is  the  only  one  by  which 
Gay  Armatt  can  be  saved  from  the  fate  which 
threatens  her;  and  if  you  will  undertake  to  make 
her  perceive  that  it  is^p  duty  she  owes  to  herself 
not  to  marry  Crisman,  I  will  give  up  the  scheme 
which  is  so  objectionable  to  you,  and  will  retire 
absolutely  from  the  affair." 

"  Why  do  you  talk  to  me  in  that  way  ?  "  said  Mrs. 
Justin.  "  You  know  perfectly  well  that  I  would 
never  consent  to  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

"  I  thought  it  right  to  give  you  the  opportunity," 
said  Stratford.  "  I  knew  you  could  exert  a  powerful 
influence  on  your  young  friend ;  but,  in  spite  of  that, 
I  should  have  very  great  fears  for  your  success.  The 
arguments  of  parents  and  friends  against  the  suit- 
ability of  lovers  are  generally  but  words  wasted.  In 
such  cases  it  is  better  to  divert  the  stream  than  to 
try  to  dam  it.  But,  as  I  said  before,  notwithstanding 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  179 

my  preference  for  my  own  plan,  I  am  perfectly  will- 
ing if  you  will  undertake  this  work —  " 

"Which  I  will  not/'  interrupted  Mrs.  Justin. 

— "  to  put  it  into  your  hands.  But,  as  you  decline 
to  take  it,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  go  on  with  it,  if  I  shall 
have  the  opportunity ." 

"Mr.  Stratford,"  said  his  companion,  leaning  for- 
ward towards  him  again,  "  do  you  know  anything 
terrible  about  Mr.  Crisman,  which  makes  you  so  re- 
lentless towards  him  ?  Has  he  committed  a  crime, 
or  what  is  the  matter  with  him,  that  you  stand  up 
so  obstinately  and  declare  that  he  shall  not  marry 
the  woman  of  his  choice  ?  It  cannot  only  be  that  he 
is  of  a  lower  intellectual  grade  than  she.  There 
must  be  something  more  than  that  which  makes 
you  wish  to  interfere  between  persons  with  whom 
you  have  no  connection  whatever." 

"  If  you  will  look  upon  the  matter  with  unbiased 
judgment,"  said  Stratford,  "  I  think  you  must  see 
that  Crisman,  for  his  own  benefit  and  advantage, 
purposes  to  commit  a  crime."  And  then,  more 
minutely  and  forcibly  than  he  had  ever  spoken  of  it 
before,  he  told  Mrs.  Justin  what  he  had  found  Cris- 
man to  be,  and  deduced  from  that  the  disastrous 
result  to  Gay  of  her  marriage  with  him. 

Mrs.  People  sat  at  one  of  the  open  windows  of  the 
farm-house,  shelling  peas  and  looking  across  the  yard 
at  the  two  who  were  talking  under  the  great  oak-tree. 
It  was  very  easy  to  see  that  their  business  was  im- 
portant, and  she  hoped,  from  the  bottom  of  her  heart, 
that  Mr.  Stratford  was  making  up  his  mind  to  buy 
a  certain  outlying  portion  of  Mrs.  Justin's  estate. 


180  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Often  and  often  had  Mrs.  People  urged  that  purchase 
upon  him,  and  she  did  trust  that  now  her  words  were 
beginning  to  coine  to  something.  To  be  sure,  she 
would  be  very  sorry  not  to  have  him  live  with  them 
every  summer,  but  all  that  might  stop  at  any  time ; 
and  he  would  make  a  most  excellent  summer  neigh- 
bor, both  to  herself  and  brother,  and  to  Mrs.  Justin. 
And,  more  than  that,  the  fact  that  a  city  man  came 
to  Cherry  Bridge  and  bought  property  and  built, 
would  help  the  sale  of  land  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
might  put  money  into  Enoch's  pocket,  and,  ultimately, 
into  that  of  her  son  John.  Therefore  she  did  most 
truly  trust  that  Mr.  Stratford  was  telling  Mrs.  Justin 
just  exactly  what  he  was  willing  to  give,  and  that  she 
would  agree  to  it. 

Stratford  talked  earnestly  and  steadily  and  a  long 
time;  and  when  he  had  finished,  Mrs.  Justin  arose 
from  her  chair. 

"You  have  convinced  me  but  of  one  thing,"  she 
said,  "  and  that  is,  you  truly  believe  your  motive  is  a 
good  one.  What  you  say  of  Mr.  Crisman  may  be 
true  now,  but  he  is  still  young,  and  I  cannot  believe 
that  it  will  always  be  true  j  and,  in  any  case,  there  is 
the  fact  before  us  that  the  two  have  promised  to 
marry  each  other." 

She  moved  towards  her  pony  carriage,  he  walking 
by  her  side.  "  I  see  that  I  can  make  no  impression 
on  you,"  she  said ;  "  but  still  I  do  not  intend  to  give 
up  my  object  of  restoring  the  old  condition  of  friendly 
intercourse  between  us.  I  cannot  say  now  what  I 
shall  do,  but  the  thing  must  be  done.  If  necessary, 
Gay's  visit  to  me  shall  be  brought  to  a  close." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  181 

"  I  beg  of  you,"  said  Stratford,  earnestly,  "  not  to 
think  of  anything  of  that  sort.  I  will  go  away  my- 
self." 

"  How  will  that  help  to  restore  our  friendship,  and 
give  me  an  opportunity  of  discussing  with  you  all 
those  points  I  have  set  down  in  my  memorandum- 
book?  No,  you  must  stay  here ;  and  in  a  day  or  two 
I  will  let  you  know  what  I  have  determined  upon. 
I  will  do  nothing  without  first  advising  you  of  it." 

And  she  stepped  into  her  phaeton,  and  took  the 
reins  which  Stratford  handed  to  her. 

When  Mr.  Stratford  returned  from  a  long  drive  at 
the  close  of  the  next  day,  he  was  handed  a  note  from 
Mrs.  Justin,  which  had  arrived  for  him  in  the  morn- 
ing. It  read  as  follows  : 

"  DEAR  MR.  STRATFORD  :  From  the  moment  you  read  this  I 
wish  you  to  understand  that  you  are  to  come  to  see  us  as 
often  and  stay  as  long  as  your  important  engagements  with 
trout  and  mountain  views  will  permit.  Do  not  imagine  from 
this  that  I  have  exiled  my  dear  Gay.  Her  presence  here  need 
not  have  the  slightest  effect  on  your  coming,  and  your  coming 
will  not  have  the  slightest  effect  upon  her.  This  may  appear  a 
little  cruel,  but  I  must  admit  that  I  take  a  certain  wicked  pleas- 
ure in  writing  it.  As  I  do  not  wish  to  mystify  you  any  longer, 
I  will  immediately  state  that  I  have  had  a  long  conversation 
with  Gay,  and  I  find  that  you  and  I  might  have  saved  ourselves 
the  trouble  of  discussing  the  subject  of  her  engagement.  She 

is  perfectly  devoted  to  Mr.  C ,  and  I  am  positive  that  there 

is  no  person  living  who  could  divert  her  affections  from  him.  I 
always  knew  she  loved  him  most  sincerely,  but  I  never  imagined 
the  strength  and  depth  of  her  affection  until  I  had  that  talk 
with  her  last  evening.  And,  more  than  that,  if  you  could  hear, 
which  you  shall  not,  the  plans  which  this  dear  girl,  now  opening 
her  soul  for  the  first  time  in  fullest  confidence  to  a  friend,  has 

16 


182  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

made  for  work  with  him  and  for  him,  you  would  long  for  the 
power  to  deny  to  yourself  that  you  had  ever  thought  of  inter- 
fering- with  their  happiness.  One  of  the  strongest  points  in 
favor  of  her  complete  success  in  carrying  out  her  plans  is  that 
she  knows  his  shortcomings,  and,  in  my  opinion,  has  most  ad- 
mirable ideas  with  regard  to  the  way  in  which  they  ought  to  be 
treated.  She  will  be  a  guardian  angel  to  him,  and  I  firmly 
believe  that,  in  one  year  after  their  marriage,  Mr.  Crisman  will 
be  an  entirely  different  person  from  the  young  man  whom  we 
now  know.  So  you  see,  my  dear  philanthropist,  that  your 
schemes  for  this  young  lady's  benefit  can  come  to  nothing ;  that 
is,  they  cannot  produce  the  result  which  you  desire.  Their 
only  effect  will  be  that  her  studies  will  be  assisted,  her  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  will  be  increased,  and  her  mind  will  receive 
that  polish  from  contact  with  the  mind  of  a  thoroughly  well- 
educated  and  cultured  man,  which  I  desired  when  I  planned  for 
the  frequent  companionship  of  yourself  and  Gay. 

"  Yours,  in  a  most  delighted  state  of  mind, 

"  LILIAN  JUSTIN. 

"  P.  S.  Of  course,  in  my  conversation  with  Gay,  I  never 
alluded  to  you  in  any  way. 

"In  reading  over  this  letter,  I  cannot  help  feeling  a  little 
sorry  for  you.  I  know  I  ought  not  to  have  such  a  feeling,  but  I 
have  it  —  just  a  little." 


CHAPTER  XV 

T  was  deeply  exasperating  to  the  soul 
of  J.  Weatherby  Stull  to  find  that 
his  tact  and  cunning  had  been  over- 
matched, and  his  important  secret 
discovered  by  that  wily-souled  old 
farmer,  Enoch  Bullripple.  To  many 
men  this  defeat  would  have  been  humiliating,  but  Mr. 
Stull  could  not  be  humiliated ;  he  was  simply  enraged 
and  filled  with  a  desire  for  vengeance. 

The  advantage  which  Mr.  Bullripple  had  gained 
over  him  with  regard  to  the  future  prospects  of  John 
People  troubled  Mr.  Stull  not  at  all.  In  fact  he  was 
glad  to  make  John  a  partner  with  a  very  small  in- 
terest in  the  Vatoldi  concern,  and  probably  would 
have  done  so  some  day  of  his  own  accord.  This  posi- 
tion secured  John's  secrecy  concerning  the  identity 
of  the  principal  owner,  for  the  young  man  had  been 
made  to  understand  thoroughly  that  in  case  of  bad 
faith  on  his  part  the  business  would  be  brought  to  a 
sudden  close.  Regarding  the  old  man's  possession 
of  the  secret  Mr.  Stull  felt  perfectly  safe.  Enoch 
Bullripple  had  promised  him  before  the  agreement 
with  John  had  been  concluded  that  he  would  never 
divulge  the  fact  that  Mr.  Stull  owned  Vatoldi's ;  and 
when  Enoch  Bullripple  had  given  his  word,  Mr.  Stull 

183 


184  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

knew  that  it  would  be  kept.  In  fact  the  secret  was 
much  safer  when  Enoch  knew  it  and  promised  to 
keep  it  than  when  unknown  to  him  and  the  subject 
of  his  prying  curiosity. 

But  his  satisfaction  in  regard  to  this  phase  of  the 
affair  made  no  difference  in  Stull's  feelings  towards 
the  old  scoundrel  who,  with  unparalleled  effrontery, 
had  laid  his  sacrilegious  hands  upon  that  thing  of 
inestimable  worth,  the  product  of  years  of  thought 
and  experience,  the  Vatoldi  system.  In  his  vandalic 
operations  Enoch  had  shown  such  fiendish  ingenuity 
that  Mr.  Stull  felt  sure  he  must  for  some  time  have 
suspected  the  identity  of  the  man  against  whose  peace 
of  mind  his  machinations  were  directed,  and  that 
he  was  thus  endeavoring,  in  some  degree,  to  take  a 
spiteful  vengeance  on  Mr.  Stull  for  that  gentleman's 
acquisition,  perfectly  legal  and  proper,  of  his  sister's 
farm. 

That  Enoch  Bullripple  should  suffer  for  his  mali- 
cious wrong-doing,  Mr.  Stull  was  fully  determined, 
and  he  believed  he  had  tact  enough  to  ruin  the  old 
farmer,  and  yet  give  him  no  reason  to  believe  that 
he  had  anything  to  do  with  it. 

With  all  this  arranged  and  ordered  in  his  very 
orderly  mind,  Mr.  Stull  found  himself  once  more  in 
buoyant  and  cheerful  spirits.  He  had  work  before 
him,  and  he  was  glad  to  do  it.  With  regard  to 
Yatoldi's  his  action  would  be  prompt  and  vigorous. 
The  place  had  been  desecrated,  and  the  most  radical 
measures  would  be  necessary  to  place  it  again  upon 
its  former  footing.  The  boycotters,  who  had  been 
much  disheartened  by  the  changes  that  had  taken 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  185 

place  under  the  Bullripple  administration,  were  en- 
couraged to  fresh  efforts  by  the  return  of  John  People 
to  his  post.  They  imagined  that  his  absence  had 
been  a  ruse  to  make  them  suppose  that  the  business 
had  passed  into  other  hands,  and  they  determined  to 
show  Mr.  People  that  they  were  not  to  be  deterred 
by  such  tricks  as  that. 

But  little  Mr.  Stull  cared  now  for  the  boycotters. 
With  his  faithful  manager  again  at  his  command, 
and  with  Vatoldi's,  such  as  it  used  to  be,  absolutely 
gone  and  vanished,  so  that  no  thought  of  interference 
with  its  orderly  system  and  its  prosperity  need  pre- 
vent his  making  any  change  he  might  choose,  he 
decided  upon  a  bold  step.  He  would  close  up  the 
place,  renovate,  beautify,  and  enlarge  it,  and  reopen 
it  as  the  old  Vatoldi's  invigorated  with  fresh  youth. 
All  the  circumstances  of  the  case  were  in  his  favor. 
It  was  the  season  when  the  patrons  he  most  cared 
for  were  out  of  town.  A  large  adjoining  store  on 
which  he  had  for  years  cast  longing  eyes  was  now 
at  his  disposal,  and,  above  all,  there  was  no  better 
way  to  cleanse  the  establishment  from  its  recent  con- 
taminations than  to  blot  it  out  of  existence  for  a 
time,  and  then  recreate  it  in  its  old  form. 

Accordingly  the  firemen- waiters  were  discharged, 
the  business  was  closed  up,  and  when  some  boycotters 
arrived  with  a  quantity  of  new  circulars  printed  on 
bright  red  paper,  they  found  the  shutters  up  and  the 
door  locked,  and  a  notice  posted,  which  stated  that 
in  consequence  of  extensive  alterations  and  enlarge- 
ments the  establishment  would  be  closed  for  some 
weeks.  This  put  an  end  to  the  boycotting  business. 


186  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

The  body  of  former  waiters,  who  for  some  time  had 
been  regretting  that  they  had  not  been  willing  to 
stick  to  their  aprons  and  jackets,  had  been  lately 
assured  by  their  leader  that  John  People's  running 
away  and  coming  back  was  a  sign  of  weakness,  and 
that  a  fresh  attack  upon  him  would  surely  be  suc- 
cessful. They  now  lost  all  hope.  Their  strike  had 
brought  a  great  deal  of  privation  upon  them.  Even 
supposing  their  action  had  been  the  real  cause  of  the 
closing  of  the  establishment,  it  had  not  been  of  the 
least  benefit  to  themselves.  Having  now  nothing  to 
fight  against,  they  determined  to  go  to  work  as  soon 
as  they  could;  but,  before  doing  so,  they  took  the 
man  who  had  led  them  into  all  their  troubles  into  a 
lonely  back  yard,  and  after  giving  him  a  most  unani- 
mous beating,  they  emptied  upon  him  two  barrels  of 
ashes,  and  would  have  provided  him  with  sackcloth 
if  they  had  supposed  it  would  add  to  the  gloominess 
of  his  reflections. 

Through  John  People,  Mr.  Stull  now  arranged  with 
contractors  for  his  intended  improvements ;  and  when 
all  the  plans  had  been  made,  and  everything  prepared 
for  the  beginning  of  the  work,  Mr.  Stull  thought  it 
a  suitable  time  to  give  John  the  holiday  for  which 
his  uncle  had  stipulated.  During  the  preliminary 
demolitions  of  partitions,  and  tearing  up  of  floors, 
and  carting  away  of  rubbish,  the  contractors  would 
need  no  supervision.  But  when  the  new  work  was 
actually  begun,  Mr.  Stull  would  wish  his  managing 
partner  to  be  on  hand  to  make  daily  reports  and 
receive  daily  instructions. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  187 

The  usually  serene  John  had  been  very  angry  dur- 
ing his  brief  sojourn  in  the  South,  and  when  he  re- 
turned he  had  not  hesitated  to  tell  his  uncle  what  he 
thought  of  the  trick  which  had  been  played  upon  him. 
But  old  Enoch  had  received  his  nephew's  reproaches 
with  such  imperturbability,  and  had  taken  such  im- 
mediate and  decided  steps  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  young  man's  business  prosperity,  that  the  latter 
could  not  but  forgive  him.  With  nothing,  therefore, 
to  cast  a  cloud  upon  the  radiant  skies  of  his  holiday, 
John  repaired  to  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood. 

Mr.  Stull's  family  usually  went  into  the  country  as 
early  in  the  season  as  any  other  fashionable  people, 
but  this  year  the  domestic  economies  had  been  very 
much  interfered  with  by  the  Vatoldi  disturbances, 
and  the  family  was  still  in  town.  For  reasons  of  his 
own  Mr.  Stull  determined  not  to  go  to  a  watering- 
place,  but  to  the  farm  which  he  owned  in  the  pleasant 
region  of  Cherry  Bridge.  His  wife  and  daughters 
were  ready  to  leave  town  much  sooner  than  he  him- 
self desired  to  go,  and  they  were  therefore  dispatched, 
in  company  with  their  voluminous  baggage,  to  take 
possession  of  the  apartments  that  had  been  prepared 
for  the  family  in  the  house  of  the  tenant  of  the  farm, 
with  whom  they  were  to  board. 

It  might  have  appeared  to  an  ordinary  observer, 
cognizant  of  Mr.  StulPs  designs  against  the  financial 
prosperity  of  Enoch  Bullripple,  that  it  was  a  rash  and 
imprudent  step  for  Stull,  if  he  wished  to  remain  un- 
known as  the  author  of  the  intended  injuries  to  the 
old  farmer,  to  come  into  the  neighborhood  at  the  time 


188  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

when  the  injuries  were  about  to  be  inflicted.  But 
Mr.  Stull  had  his  wits  about  him.  He  had  resolved 
that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  show  in  this 
affair,  and  when  his  working  operations  had  been 
finally  decided  upon,  he  found  that  his  occasional 
presence  at  Cherry  Bridge  would  be  a  great  aid  in 
the  preservation  of  his  secret.  This,  therefore,  was 
the  principal  reason  for  selecting  this  Ion g-unvi sited 
farm  as  a  suitable  place  for  his  summer  sojourn. 

Mrs.  Stull,  whose  tastes  were  rather  domestic  than 
otherwise,  was  very  willing,  after  a  winter  of  a  some- 
what goaded  social  activity,  to  retire  into  an  unevent- 
ful country  life  ;  the  two  younger  girls,  both  in  short 
dresses,  were  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  field  ram- 
bles and  mountain  scrambles  5  and  even  Miss  Matilda 
thought  she  might  find  a  good  deal  to  amuse  and 
interest  her  independent  and  practical  mind  at  Cherry 
Bridge. 

During  the  first  week  of  their  stay  on  the  farm  Mr. 
StulPs  family  found  their  anticipations  of  pleasure 
fully  realized;  but  towards  the  end  of  that  period 
Miss  Matilda  was  obliged  to  admit  to  herself  that 
things  were  getting  a  little  dull.  She  had  taken  all 
the  drives  she  cared  to  take  with  her  mother  and 
sisters ;  she  had  taken  all  the  walks  she  cared  to  take 
by  herself,  for  her  mother  never  walked,  and  the  two 
girls  always  ran  j  and  she  began  to  see  that  nature 
had  not  designed  her  to  be  happy  under  any  circum- 
stances in  which  she  had  nobody  to  talk  to. 

It  was  in  this  mood  that  she  sauntered  one  day 
across  a  broad  pasture-field  through  which  a  narrow 
path  meanderingly  ran.  With  one  small  and  tightly 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  189 

gloved  hand  she  held  a  bright  red  parasol  over  her 
head,  and  with  the  other  hand  she  raised  the  skirt  of 
her  fashionably  modeled  dress  just  enough  to  show 
her  tightly  fitting  boots.  To  those  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  this  small  but  very  pretty  young 
woman,  everything  about  her  seemed  to  partake  of 
the  characteristics  of  her  gloves  and  boots.  Even 
her  ideas,  although  they  were  not  very  far-reaching, 
were  admirably  adapted  and  shaped  to  their  objects. 

Raising  her  eyes  as  she  daintily  trod  the  narrow 
path,  she  saw,  approaching  her,  a  young  man  of 
rotund  and  sturdy  proportions,  an  upright  carriage, 
and  a  strong,  energetic,  though  rather  rolling  gait. 
His  rounded  cheeks  were  somewhat  flushed,  perhaps 
from  exercise,  and  on  his  brow  there  was  an  air  of 
gentle  resignation,  mingled  now  with  some  other  feel- 
ing which  might  be  embarrassment,  uncertain  antici- 
pation, or  some  form  of  indeterminate  anxiety.  The 
moment  the  eyes  of  Miss  Matilda  fell  upon  this  young 
man  she  recognized  him  by  the  resigned  brow  which 
she  had  frequently  noticed  while  taking  refreshments 
at  Vatoldi's. 

John  had  seen  Miss  Matilda  long  before  she  had 
noticed  him.  He  was  not  altogether  surprised  at  the 
vision  of  this  being,  who  for  many  months  had  been 
so  prominent  in  his  thoughts ;  for  he  knew  the  family 
were  coming  to  their  farm,  and  it  was  very  natural 
that  Miss  Matilda  should  give  herself  the  pleasure  of 
a  walk  abroad.  His  soul  was  rejoiced  to  look  upon 
her  again,  but  his  ideas  of  propriety  and  exact  social 
conduct  were  in  a  sad  tremble.  He  did  not  know 
what  he  ought  to  do  when  he  met  her.  Strictly  speak- 


190  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ing  lie  was  not  acquainted  with  her,  although  some 
slight  conversation  had  once  taken  place  between  them 
at  the  cashier's  desk  at  Vatoldi's.  It  might  be  that 
she  would  not  resent  a  bow  from  him,  should  she  but 
remember  that  she  had  spoken  with  him,  notwith- 
standing a  collateral  recollection  of  having  very  often 
paid  him  for  her  luncheons.  Moreover,  the  two  were 
now  in  the  country,  upon  a  narrow  path  through  a 
field,  and  under  such  circumstances  it  was  certainly 
proper  for  a  man  to  raise  his  hat  when  he  passed  a 
lady,  no  matter  whether  she  recognized  him  or  not. 
But  more  powerful  than  these  motives  impelling  him 
to  bow  to  Miss  Matilda,  was  the  remembrance  that  he 
was  now  her  father's  partner.  To  be  sure  she  did  not 
know  this,  but  he  was  very  conscious  of  it,  and  this 
consciousness  had  already  begun  to  have  a  stiffening 
effect  upon  his  character.  Miss  Matilda  might  not 
deign  even  to  look  at  him,  but  a  rebuff  of  this  kind 
would  not  have  the  effect  upon  him  it  would  have  had 
a  few  weeks  before.  "  Therefore,"  said  John  to  him- 
self, "  I  shall  take  off  my  hat  as  I  pass  her."  And  as 
this  act,  look  upon  it  as  he  might,  had  in  it  a  gentle 
flavor  of  acquaintanceship,  it  was  quite  natural  his 
heart  should  flutter  and  his  cheeks  increase  their 
healthful  glow. 

But,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  young  man,  Miss 
Stull  stopped  before  he  reached  her,  and  stood,  looking 
pleasantly  at  him  as  if  she  were  awaiting  his  approach. 
This  was  indeed  the  case,  for  the  heart  of  Miss  Matilda 
was  cheered  by  the  sight  of  a  young  man  whose  ap- 
pearance was  familiar  to  her,  and  to  whom  she  had  a 
very  fair  excuse  for  speaking. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN,  191 

"  Good-morning,"  she  said,  when  he  was  near 
enough. 

John,  his  whole  being  thoroughly  moved  by  this 
salutation,  stopped,  took  off  his  hat,  put  it  on  again, 
ejaculated  "  Good-morning,"  and  without  any  volition 
on  his  part  was  about  to  pass  on.  But  Miss  Matilda 
had  no  intention  of  allowing  this. 

"  Are  you  not  the  gentleman  who  attended  to  the 
desk  at  Yatoldi's  restaurant?"  she  said.  "I  have 
seen  you  there  so  often  that  I  recognized  you  imme- 
diately, although  it  appears  very  odd  to  meet  you 
out  here  in  this  far-away  country  place." 

John  indistinctly  murmured  something  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  rather  odd. 

"  But  now  I  come  to  think  of  it,"  she  continued, 
"  you  once  told  me  you  were  born  here.  In  that  case 
of  course  it  isn't  odd  that  you  should  sometimes  come 
here." 

The  fact  that  she  remembered  the  little  conversa- 
tion gave  John  such  a  rush  of  delight  to  the  head 
that  he  was  incapable  of  making  an  immediate 
remark  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  stammered  out 
instead  some  words  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  he 
thought  it  was  rather  odd  that  he  should  have  been 
born  here. 

"  Everything  must  seem  very  familiar  to  you,"  said 
Miss  Matilda,  "  and  things  ought  to  be  very  familiar 
to  me  too,  for  I  used  to  live  here  when  I  was  a  girl. 
But,  somehow  or  other,  they  are  not.  These  fields  are 
not  so  large  as  I  remember  them,  and  the  mountains 
and  woods  seem  a  great  deal  nearer  than  they  used  to 
be.  I  wonder  if  this  is  the  field  where  that  old  gen- 


192  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN, 

tleman  who  told  me  in  the  restaurant  that  he  was 
your  uncle  used  to  keep  a  savage  bull  for  the  sole 
purpose,  as  I  believed,  of  frightening  children  off  the 
grass." 

John's  tumultuous  emotion  was  now  subsiding  into 
an  astonished  delight  at  the  friendly  words  and  man- 
ner of  Miss  Stull.  "  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  he,  "  this  is  the 
field,  but  there  is  no  bull  here  now.w 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  in  the  slightest  degree  afraid  of  that," 
said  Miss  Matilda,  "  with  some  one  here  to  drive  him 
away." 

John  smiled  and  glowed,  and,  emboldened  by  his 
pleasure,  made  an  independent  remark.  "  You 
couldn't  have  been  very  much  afraid  of  it,  ma'am," 
he  said,  "  when  you  came  into  the  field  with  your  red 
parasol." 

"  I  did  think  of  the  bull,"  said  Miss  Matilda,  twirl- 
ing the  parasol  in  front  of  her  as  she  spoke,  "  and  I, 
thought  if  he  should  come  at  me  it  would  be  a  very 
good  thing  to  have  this  red  parasol.  I  should  have 
thrown  it  down  in  the  way  he  was  coming,  and  then, 
while  he  was  horning  it,  I  should  have  run  away." 

"  That  would  have  been  a  tip-top  thing  to  do,"  said 
John,  admiringly.  "  I  don't  believe  anybody  could 
have  done  better  than  that." 

"  Except  keep  out  of  the  field  altogether,"  she  said. 
"And  now  can  you  tell  me  which  way  I  ought  to  go  to 
find  a  path  which  will  lead  me  to  some  place  where  I 
can  get  into  the  road  that  runs  by  my  father's  farm. 
You  know  where  that  is?  " 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  John,  "that  is  the  place  I  was 
born  on.  If  you  just  walk  across  the  grass  to  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  193 

fence-corner  over  there,  you  will  come  to  bars  which 
can  be  let  down,  and  then  on  the  other  side  of  the 
next  field  is  a  gate  which  opens  into  the  road." 

"  How  do  you  let  down  bars  ? "  asked  Miss  Matilda. 

u  Oh,  Fll  go  over  and  do  it  for  you/7  said  John. 

Miss  Matilda  smiled  and  thanked  him,  and  the  two 
walked  together  over  the  grass  to  the  fence-corner. 

"  It  seems  strange,"  said  Miss  Stull,  "  that,  being 
born  on  a  farm,  you  did  not  stay  there  and  become  a 
farmer  instead  of  going  to  the  city  and  keeping  a 
restaurant." 

"  I  didn't  have  any  choice  in  the  matter,"  said  John. 
And  in  his  heart  he  thought  that  he  was  rejoiced  that 
his  mother's  home  had  been  snatched  from  her,  and 
that  he  had  been  cast  forth  upon  the  world ;  for, 
otherwise,  he  would  never  have  come  in  contact  with 
the  Stulls,  and  this  enrapturing  walk  across  the  fields 
could  never  have  been  a  reality. 

" After  all,"  continued  the  lady,  "it  isn't  such  a 
very  bad  arrangement,  for  I  suppose  your  uncle  can 
raise  bulls  here  and  send  them  down  to  be  used  in 
your  restaurant." 

John  smiled  vigorously.  "  Uncle  does  sometimes 
sell  us  things  from  the  farm,  but  we  never  have  any 
call  for  the  kind  of  meat  you  speak  of.  All  that  we 
buy  is  the  tenderest  and  best." 

"  That  is  very  true,"  said  Miss  Matilda,  "  for  I 
remember  that  I  often  used  to  get  there  the  nicest 
kinds  of  lamb-chops,  and,  sometimes,  sweet-breads." 

Had  the  heavens  opened  ?  Was  it  possible  that  the 
memory  of  those  carefully  reserved  chops  and  sweet- 
breads still  lingered  in  her  soul  ?  Could  it  be  that 

17 


194  THE  HUNDEEDTH  MAN. 

they  had  made  an  impression  thereon  ?  Dared  he  to 
believe  that  she  saw  in  these  delicacies  something 
more  than  the  lamb  or  the  calf  could  offer  °?  Be  the 
truth  what  it  might,  it  was  enough  now  to  know  that 
she  remembered  those  choice  bits  which  he  had  so 
carefully  preserved  for  her  in  the  corner  of  his  ice- 
box, and  which  represented  the  feelings  that  filled,  not 
a  corner,  but  the  whole  of  his  heart. 

"If  ever  again,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  strode 
proudly  beside  her,  "she  doesn't  come  for  two  or 
three  days,  and  any  of  those  cuts  are  left  over,  no  soul 
on  earth  shall  eat  them  but  myself !  " 

The  bars  were  taken  down  with  great  alacrity. 
Then  John  offered  to  accompany  the  lady  to  the  gate, 
for,  as  he  remarked,  it  was  more  than  likely  that  it 
was  fastened  up  in  some  way  that  would  make  it 
hard  for  her  to  open  it.  Miss  Stull  had  no  desire  to 
lose  John's  company  at  that  point,  and,  accepting  his 
offer,  the  two  continued  their  walk. 

When  they  had  passed  through  a  gate,  which  really 
did  require  the  hand  of  a  man  to  open  it,  John  said, 
pointing  to  a  farm-house  which  stood  some  little  dis- 
tance back  from  the  road :  "  That  is  the  house  of  my 
uncle,  Mr.  Bullripple.  My  mother  lives  with  him,  and 
I  am  spending  my  holiday  there.  Wouldn't  you  like 
to  step  in  and  rest  ?  My  mother  will  be  very  glad  to 
see  you,  and  it  is  a  good  mile  to  your  father's  farm 
along  this  road." 

Miss  Matilda  hesitated  a  moment.  "  Do  you  think 
your  mother  could  give  me  a  glass  of  milk  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Milk !  "  exclaimed  John,  "  gallons  of  it !  Rich  as 
cream,  and  right  out  of  the  cool  spring-house.7' 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  195 

"  That  sounds  nice,"  said  Miss  Matilda,  "  although 
I  don't  want  gallons.  I  think  I  shall  stop  and  rest." 

With  more  of  a  roll,  and  more  of  a  swell,  and  more 
of  a  vigorous  step  than  he  had  ever  shown  before, 
John  crossed  the  road  and  threw  open  the  Bullripple 
gate.  Up  the  short  lane  shaded  by  cherry-trees  he 
proudly  escorted  Miss  Stull.  The  young  lady  declared 
she  did  not  care  to  go  into  the  house,  but  would 
rather  rest  in  the  shade  outside,  so  John  led  her  to  a 
chair  under  the  great  oak-tree  where  stood  the  table 
at  which  Mr.  Stratford  frequently  wrote  his  letters. 

"  I  will  tell  mother  you  are  here/7  said  John,  "  and 
you  shall  have  some  milk  in  a  moment." 

When  Mrs.  People  heard  who  was  sitting  under  the 
tree,  she  knitted  her  brows.  Her  opinion  of  Mr.  Stull 
was  one  of  the  strongest  reprobation,  and,  years  ago, 
had  been  personally  stated  to  him.  She  had  never 
changed  this  opinion,  nor  did  she  know  of  any  reason 
why  she  should  like  anything  belonging  to  him.  If 
his  daughter  stopped  in  her  yard  and  asked  for  a 
drink  of  milk,  she  would  give  it  to  her  just  as  she 
would  give  it  to  a  needy  tramp,  but  she  did  not  want 
to  go  out  and  see  her.  Besides,  she  was  busy  in  the 
kitchen,  and  was  not  in  a  condition  to  see  folks. 

"  Mother,"  said  John,  "  I  will  go  to  the  spring-house 
and  get  a  pitcher  of  milk,  and  will  you  please  put 
some  of  those  big  raspberries  that  were  picked  to-day 
into  something,  and  I  will  take  them  out  to  her." 

The  chin  of  Mrs.  People  went  up  into  the  air,  and 
she  made  no  answer.  She  was  not  accustomed  to 
refuse  any  request  made  by  her  dear  boy,  but  this 
was  going  very  far.  Why  should  John  put  himself 


196  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  so  much  trouble  to  refresh  old  StulPs  daughter? 
She  stepped  to  a  window  of  the  kitchen  which  was 
in  the  end  of  the  house  and  commanded  a  view  of 
the  oak-tree.  That  girl  out  there  was  certainly  very 
pretty,  and  wore  as  stylish  clothes  as  ever  had  been 
seen  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Mrs.  People  did 
not  affect  such  things  herself,  but  she  knew  them 
when  she  saw  them. 

As  she  stood  and  gazed  on  Miss  Matilda,  a  brilliant 
idea  flashed  into  Mrs.  People's  mind.  "  Suppose/' 
she  thought,  "  just  suppose  that  should  happen  ! "  and 
she  rubbed  together  her  floury  hands.  She  knew 
that  Miss  Stull,  as  well  as  her  father,  frequently 
came  to  Vatoldi's,  and  she  supposed  it  was  there  John 
had  made  the  young  lady's  acquaintance,  and  noth- 
ing could  be  more  natural  than  that  they  should  like 
each  other.  She  was  truly  a  pretty  little  piece  of 
goods ;  and  as  for  John,  a  manlier  figure  and  an 
honester  face  were  never  created  for  the  delight  of 
womankind.  Yes,  indeed,  if  that  should  come  about, 
the  family  would  get  back  more  than  they  had  lost; 
and  if  old  Stull  didn't  like  it,  he  could  lump  it.  And 
to  know  that  he  lumped  it  would  be  a  rare  joy  to 
Mrs.  People. 

Quickly  now  the  good  woman  washed  her  hands. 
A  handsome  glass  dish  was  heaped  with  bright  red 
raspberries,  several  slices  of  her  nicest  cake  were  put 
upon  a  pretty  china  plate,  a  bowl  of  white  sugar  was 
brought  out,  and  when  John  appeared  with  the  milk 
she  sent  him  back  for  a  pitcher  of  cream.  And  while 
he  was  gone  she  glanced  along  her  pantry  shelves, 
and  added  some  guava  jelly  to  the  other  refreshments. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  197 

When  John  came,  he  covered  a  tray  with  a  large 
napkin,  and  with  much  celerity  arranged  upon  it 
the  articles  mentioned,  together  with  the  necessary 
spoons,  saucers,  napkin,  and  tumbler,  and  a  glass  of 
water.  Throwing  a  small  table-cloth  over  his  left 
arm,  John  took  up  the  tray  and  stepped  briskly  into 
the  yard ;  his  mother  assuring  him  that  she  would  go 
out  and  speak  to  the  young  lady  as  soon  as  she  had 
put  on  something  fit  to  be  seen. 

Arrived  at  the  tree,  the  tray  was  daintily  placed 
upon  the  grass,  the  cloth  was  swiftly  but  correctly 
spread  upon  the  table,  and  then,  with  the  skill  of  the 
head-man  at  VatoldPs,  John  placed  dishes,  glasses, 
pitchers,  and  saucers  upon  the  fine  white  cloth. 

"  Goodness  gracious  ! n  exclaimed  Miss  Stull,  when 
John  appeared.  "  You've  brought  me  a  regular  meal ! 
But  I  must  say  this  seems  quite  natural !  Why,  I 
could  almost  imagine  myself  at  Vatoldi's,  and  you,  or 
one  of  your  waiters,  fixing  up  everything  in  such  a 
tempting  way ! 7? 

And  Miss  Matilda,  not  at  all  loath  to  enjoy  what 
was  set  before  her,  drew  off  her  gloves  and  began 
her  repast ;  while  John  poured  out  the  milk,  served 
the  berries,  handed  the  cream  and  sugar,  proffered 
the  cake,  and  performed  every  service  with  the  grace 
and  foresight  of  an  accomplished  knight  of  the 
restaurant. 

Now  appeared,  at  the  front  door  of  the  house,  Mr. 
Stratford,  prepared  for  an  afternoon  drive.  Some- 
what surprised  at  the  scene  under  the  oak-tree,  he 
stood  and  gazed  at  it  with  considerable  interest.  "Are 
the  business  instincts  of  that  young  man  so  strong," 


198  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

he  thought,  "  that  he  has  started  a  restaurant  in  the 
yard?  He  has,  certainly,  a  very  nice-looking  cus- 
tomer." 

It  was  plain  to  a  man  of  observation  that  John's 
attentions  to  the  lady  who  was  refreshing  herself 
were  much  more  assiduous  than  those  paid  by  the 
ordinary  waiter  ;  and  Stratford  smiled  as  he  noticed 
the  alacrity  and  readiness  with  which  the  young  man 
anticipated  and  provided  for  the  desires  of  the  lady. 

Having  put  on  his  gloves,  Mr.  Stratford  walked 
across  an  opposite  corner  of  the  yard  towards  a  hitch- 
ing-post  where  his  horse  and  buggy  awaited  him. 
Miss  Stull  now  first  noticed  him,  and  immediately 
inquired  of  John  who  was  that  gentleman.  John 
gave  her  the  necessary  information,  and,  while  ex- 
pressing her  surprise  that  a  gentleman  like  that 
should  be  willing  to  shut  himself  up  here  in  a  farm- 
house, she  watched  Mr.  Stratford  as  he  prepared  to 
drive  away.  She  admired  his  straight  and  well-pro- 
portioned figure ;  she  appreciated  to  the  full  the  cor- 
rect and  handsome  fashion  of  the  clothes  he  wore  j 
and  although*  his  face  was  somewhat  embrowned,  it 
met  with  her  entire  approval.  Instantly  she  began 
to  think  that  this  neighborhood,  which  that  morning 
had  seemed  to  her  so  dull,  might  yet  prove  quite 
interesting. 

Stratford  drove  away,  and  almost  immediately 
afterwards  Mrs.  People  appeared  under  the  oak-tree, 
attired  in  a  pink  and  white  striped  frock,  very  much 
washed  and  starched.  She  offered  Miss  Stull  a  very 
friendly  greeting  which  that  young  lady  received 
with  suitable  moderation.  John  placed  a  chair  for 
his  mother,  and,  the  repast  having  been  concluded, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  199 

he  carried  away  the  dishes,  the  table-cloth,  and 
napkin. 

"Pm  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  milk/' 
said  Miss  Matilda,  "  and  the  berries  were  really  deli- 
cious." She  said  nothing  about  the  cake,  which  Mrs. 
People  had  made  herself,  and  praise  of  which  she 
anxiously  awaited,  but  proceeded  to  ask  Mrs.  People 
if  there  were  many  persons  from  the  cities  now  stay- 
ing in  this  part  of  the  country. 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  People,  generously  refraining 
from  any  hints  in  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  cake. 
"There's  Mr.  Stratford,  who,  perhaps,  you  noticed 
just  goin7  away  in  his  buggy.  He's  been  spendin7 
the  summers  with  us  for  a  good  many  years,  and  no 
President  of  the  United  States  ever  came  near  him 
for  bein7  an  out-and-out  gentleman  from  his  hat  to 
his  boots.  He's  goin'  now  to  see  Mrs.  Justin,  who 
lives  about  three  miles  from  here,  and  she  might, 
perhaps,  be  called  city  folks  too,  because  she  has  a 
house  in  town,  although  this  one  is  her  real  home, 
bein'  where  her  husband  died,  and  where  she  comes 
every  year  just  as  certain  as  the  Spring  lambs.  Be- 
sides these,  there's  no  city  folks  except  a  gentleman 
who  comes  every  Saturday  to  Mrs.  Justin's  to  see  a 
young  lady  who  is  stayin7  there,  who  is  just  about  as 
pretty  as  any  pictur'  that  ever  was  painted,  though 
John  has  said  to  me  two  or  three  times,  and  when  I 
first  heard  him  speak  of  it  I  couldn't  for  the  life  of 
me  think  why  he  made  such  a  p'int  of  her  looks,  that 
she's  not  the  kind  of  a  girl  he  fancies,  there  bein' 
somethin7  too  much  of  her,  and  an  air  about  her 
which  he  calls  'too  larky/  havin'  seen  her  once  or 
twice  walkin'  over  the  fields,  and  goin7  along  in  a 


200  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

way  which  I  suppose  reminded  him  of  a  lark  bird ; 
and  says  he  to  me :  '  Mother/  and  I  declare  I  didn't 
understand  what  he  meant  when  he  first  said  it — 
'  Mother/  said  he,  i  the  kind  of  a  girl  I  fancy  is  more 
like  a  wren ? ;  one  of  these  Jenny  wrens,  ma'am,  that 
build  in  a  box.  You  don't  see  ?em  in  the  city,  per- 
haps, but  there's  plenty  of  7em  here.  And  John  says 
he  fancies  a  girl  that's  more  like  them,  bein7  littler 
than  a  lark,  and  more  natty  and  smarter  j  an'  I  am 
sure  no  one  would  ever  be  offended  if  they  could  once 
see  a  wren  settin'  on  the  top  of  her  box,  just  as  neat 
as  a  new  pin,  and  always  there  when  wanted,  at  least 
I  suppose  so,  though  never  havin'  wanted  a  wren  I 
can't  say  for  certain,  though  I  know  very  well  that 
a  lark  is  a  different  kind  of  a  bird,  and  not  to  be 
depended  on." 

About  larks  and  wrens  Miss  Stull  cared  nothing  at 
all,  and  she  perceived  none  of  the  delicate  allusions 
in  Mrs.  People's  remarks.  But  she  took  great  inter- 
est in  Mrs.  Justin,  and  asked  many  questions  about 
her.  The  Justins  had  always  kept  aloof  from  the 
Stulls,  and  Miss  Matilda  had  never  heard  the  name 
mentioned.  Now,  however,  she  determined  that  she 
would  make  it  a  point  to  become  acquainted  with 
Mrs.  Justin.  If  the  neighborhood  was  to  be  made 
interesting  she  must  know  her  neighbors. 

Miss  Matilda  soon  took  her  leave,  and  although 
John  offered  to  walk  with  her  as  far  as  her  father's 
farm,  she  declined  his  services.  The  road  would  lead 
her  directly  home,  she  said,  and  there  was  ever  so 
much  of  the  afternoon  left. 

Mrs.  People  and  John  accompanied  their  visitor  to 
the  gate,  and  as  she  went  out  she  turned  to  the  latter 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  201 

and  said  with  a  smile :  "  If  I  thought  there  was  any 
chance  of  meeting  a  bull  in  the  road  perhaps  I  might 
let  you  go  with  me." 

If  John  had  read  her  expression  he  would  have 
seen  that  it  indicated  a  desire  not  to  drop  wholly  the 
acquaintance  of  one  who  might  yet  be  useful  to  her. 
But  he  could  find  no  immediate  answer  to  this  re- 
mark, and  merely  allowed  himself  a  melancholy  smile. 
But  his  mother  did  not  hesitate  an  instant. 

"  Now,  Miss  Stull,"  said  she,  "  just  let  me  tell  you 
this.  Old  Mr.  Barclay,  who  lives,  himself,  down  at 
the  Bridge,  has  got  a  field  just  at  the  turn  of  the 
road  there,  where  he  most  commonly  pastur's  some 
cattle,  and  sometimes  he  does  have  a  bull  among  'em, 
which  it  may  be  cross  and  it  may  be  not,  which  is  not 
for  you  nor  me  to  say,  Miss  Stull,  not  havin'  seen 
him.  And  though  Mr.  Barclay  always  does  keep  up 
his  fences,  like  a  good  neighbor  as  he  is,  he  hasn't 
been  along  this  way  for  more'n  a  week  —  yes,  I  guess 
it's  a  good  two  weeks  —  and  I've  found  out  in  the 
course  of  my  life  that  no  farm  hand  is  to  be  depended 
on  in  the  matter  of  top  rails  bein'  up  like  the  master 
himself.  And  now,  you  see,  Miss  Stull,  if  there  is  a 
bull  in  that  field,  and  he  happens  to  be  a  cross  one, 
and  some  of  the  top  rails  has  been  knocked  down, 
or  been  left  not  put  up,  and  none  of  us  not  knowin' 
can  say  that  none  of  them  things  isn't,  why  then  it 
would  be  a  great  sight  safer,  Miss  Stull,  for  you  to 
let  my  son  John  walk  along  with  you  as  far  as  your 
father's  gate." 

Miss  Matilda  laughed.  "Thank  you,"  she  said, 
"  but  I  think  I'll  take  the  chances."  And  she  walked 
briskly  away. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


S  Mr.  Stratford  rode  away  from  the 
Bullripple  farm,  his  mind  was  some- 
what occupied  by  conjectures  re- 
garding the  young  lady  who  was 
being  served  with  refreshments  un- 
der the  great  oak-tree.  He  began 
to  fear  that  Mrs.  People  had  been  induced  to  take 
other  boarders,  which  would  be  in  violation  of  the 
verbal  contract  he  had  made  with  her.  The  no- 
tion of  it  troubled  him,  especially  as  nothing  had 
been  previously  said  about  it,  and  this  would  imply  a 
total  change  in  the  frank  and  communicative  manner 
of  his  landlady.  Resolving  to  inquire  into  the  matter 
as  soon  as  he  returned  to  the  farm,  he  put  it  all  be- 
hind him  long  before  he  arrived  at  Mrs.  Justin's  house. 
The  lady  of  the  mansion  was  on  the  piazza,  and 
she  was  very  glad  to  see  him.  A  return  to  the 
friendly  intercourse  of  so  many  years  was  delightful 
to  her  true  soul,  as  loyal  to  her  friends  as  to  her 
memories.  But  her  reception  of  Stratford,  warm  and 
cordial  as  it  was,  appeared  tame  and  lukewarm  when 
compared  to  the  greeting  given  him  by  Gay  when 
that  young  lady  came  flying  downstairs  and  out  of 
the  front  door  to  meet  him.  She  ran  to  him  with 
glowing  cheeks  and  sparkling  eyes  and  both  hands 
outstretched. 

202 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  203 

As  she  looked  on  at  this  meeting  the  spirits  of  Mrs. 
Justin  fell  a  degree  or  two,  and  her  faith  in  Gay's 
unalterable  devotion  to  Mr.  Crisman  wavered  for  a 
moment.  Never  had  she  seen  that  young  lady  so 
glad  to  meet  her  lover.  But  quickly  the  assuring 
reflection  came  to  her  that  lovers  do  not  exhibit  their 
true  feeling  before  other  people,  and  that  Gay's  joy 
at  having  Mr.  Crisman  with  her  was  probably  shown 
to  him  alone.  This  was  all  open  and  free  for  any- 
body to  see,  and  meant  nothing  but  that  Gay  was 
delighted  to  meet  again  this  kind  friend  and  teacher. 
If  the  girl  had  suspected  for  a  moment  what  Strat- 
ford had  thought  about  her  and  Mr.  Crisman  there 
would  have  been  no  such  greeting  as  this.  So  the 
free-hearted  openness  of  Gay's  manner  to  her  friend 
proved  the  strength  of  her  love  for  her  lover,  and  the 
spirits  of  Mrs.  Justin  rose  to  their  previous  level. 

"  And  now  you  must  tell  us,"  said  Gay,  "  why  you 
have  staid  away  so  long.  It  was  very  kind  of  you 
to  take  Mr.  Crisman  fishing.  He  says  he  has  not  had 
such  a  good  day  for  ever  so  long.  Everything  would 
have  been  simply  perfect  if  you  had  come  back  with 
him  to  dinner,  and  we  all  could  have  talked  over  the 
day's  adventures." 

At  this  Stratford  smiled,  but  a  touch  of  pity  came 
into  his  heart  when  he  thought  of  what  a  bad  day  he 
might  make  of  that  good  one  of  which  the  young 
man  had  spoken  so  cheerily.  But  all  sentiment  of 
this  kind  quickly  vanished  as  he  looked  at  Gay  and 
thought  of  Crisman. 

Mr.  Stratford  would  not  stay  to  dinner,  but  he 
promised  to  come  and  dine  on  the  morrow,  when  Mr. 


204  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Crisman  would  be  there.  Mrs.  Justin  and  Gay 
walked  with  him  to  his  vehicle,  and  the  young  girl 
broke  into  strong  admiration  of  the  horse.  Without 
a  thought  of  anything  more  than  she  said,  she  de- 
clared that  it  must  be  absolutely  delightful  to  ride 
behind  such  an  animal  as  that. 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  test  it?"  said  Stratford, 
"  There's  plenty  of  time  for  a  drive  of  a  mile  or  two." 

Gay,  with  her  face  full  of  the  most  ardent  consent, 
looked  at  Mrs.  Justin,  while  Stratford  remarked  that 
he  was  sorry  the  capacity  of  his  vehicle  did  not 
permit  him  to  ask  them  both. 

Mrs.  Justin  hesitated,  but  quickly  concluded  that 
any  disapprobation  of  the  drive,  such  a  common- 
place thing  in  itself,  would  show  to  Stratford  that 
she  did  not  believe  what  she  had  written  to  him  in 
her  letter.  So  she  stiffened  her  mind  with  the  thought 
of  Gay's  fidelity,  and  she  said  :  "  Why  not  take  her  a 
little  drive?  And  some  other  time  you  must  show 
me  the  quality  of  your  horse." 

"  Do  you  always  drive  as  fast  as  this  ?  "  exclaimed 
Gay,  when  they  were  on  the  public  road.  "  What  a 
magnificent  horse !  His  hind  legs  work  like  a  steam- 
engine  !  It's  perfectly  splendid  to  see  him  let  him- 
self down  with  the  skin  wrinkling  on  his  back,  and 
his  ears  up.  Why,  this  is  going  like  the  wind  !  " 

"  I  seldom  drive  so  fast,"  said  Stratford,  "  but  I 
thought  you  would  like  a  short  spurt  of  speed,  and 
as  we  have  but  little  time  I  want  to  get  you  up  to  the 
Summit  as  soon  as  possible.  There  will  be  a  fine 
view  from  there  this  evening." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  205 

"  You  can't  go  too  fast  for  me,"  said  Gay,  "  and  I 
wish  the  Summit  were  twelve  miles  away  instead  of 
two. — What!  There  already!"  she  exclaimed  pres- 
ently, when  they  reached  a  spot  where  the  road  began 
to  dip  into  the  valley  beneath.  "  Why,  Mr.  Strat- 
ford, it's  a  long,  long  walk  !  " 

"  And  a  short,  short  spin  on  wheels,"  he  replied. 
"And  now,  look  out  there!  Isn't  that  worth  com- 
ing to  see  ? " 

Gay  had  looked  upon  this  view  before,  but  never 
at  this  hour.  They  were  on  a  different  side  of  the 
ridge  from  which,  sitting  on  a  rail  fence,  they  had 
once  viewed  the  sunset;  and  a  far  wider  extent  of 
country  was  spread  out  before  them.  The  opening 
glories  of  the  western  sky  were  at  their  backs,  but 
beneath  them  stretched  a  far-reaching  plain,  green 
here  with  pastures,  yellow  there  with  ripening  grain, 
and  these  brighter  colors  relieved  by  great  masses  of 
thick  forest  which  seemed  to  be  retiring  in  irregular 
columns  towards  a  distant  line  of  mountains  which 
raised  themselves,  clear  and  blue,  along  the  horizon. 
The  great,  white  clouds  which  floated  in  the  sky  were 
tinged  with  a  delicate  pink  by  the  reflections  from 
the  west,  and  over  everything  there  fell  the  veil  of 
evening,  which  at  this  hour  softened,  without  obscur- 
ing, the  scene. 

"  This  is  altogether  new,"  said  Gay,  her  hand  un- 
consciously resting  on  her  companion's  sleeve.  "  I 
have  never  seen  it  like  this." 

She  said  little,  but  her  eyes  were  feasting;  and 
Stratford  sat  and  looked  at  her.  Presently  he  got 
18 


206  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

down  and  opened  a  gate  by  the  side  of  the  road,  and 
then  mounting  again  to  his  seat  he  drove  into  a  field 
and  along  a  narrow  way  between  rows  of  corn  towards 
a  grassy  acclivity  which  stood  higher  than  the  place 
at  which  they  had  first  stopped. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  asked  Gay. 

"  To  get  a  view  from  a  different  point,"  was  the 
answer.  "  I  think  you  will  like  it." 

She  did  like  it.  She  actually  rose  to  her  feet  with 
a  cry  of  delight.  Not  far  away,  and  amid  the  soft 
beauty  of  the  evening  landscape,  lay  a  small  and  al- 
most luminous  sheet  of  water,  shining  like  a  diamond 
in  a  rich,  dark  setting  of  green  banks  and  overhang- 
ing pines. 

"  A  lake ! »  cried  Gay.  "  A  lovely  little  lake  !  I 
never  knew  there  was  such  a  thing  in  all  this  country ! " 

"It  is  not  a  lake,"  said  Stratford.  "It  is  nothing 
but  our  little  Cherry  Creek,  which  makes  a  broad 
bend  beneath  that  bank,  and  shows  no  more  of  itself 
from  this  point,  either  coming  or  going  j  but  it  gives 
a  master's  touch  to  the  scene ;  don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  It  makes  it  perfect/'  said  Gay ;  "  simply  perfect." 

As  she  gazed,  there  came  into  the  mind  of  Gay 
something  she  was  about  to  say,  but  she  checked  her- 
self. She  remembered  that  the  most  beautiful  and 
peculiar  views  she  had  seen  in  this  neighborhood  had 
been  shown  to  her  by  Mr.  Stratford.  She  was  about 
to  express  her  gratitude  in  words  which  should  show 
her  appreciation  of  this  fact,  but  there  came  into  her 
mind  another  recollection  with  which  some  feelings  of 
regret  were  mingled.  She  determined,  on  the  spot, 
that  one  of  the  things  which  it  was  her  duty  to  do  for 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  207 

Mr.  Crisman  was  to  induce  him  to  appreciate  the  love- 
liness which  nature  has  to  show  us  in  a  country  like 
this.  He  not  only  ought  to  like  them  for  himself, 
but  he  ought  to  like  to  see  her  enjoy  them.  Of  course 
this  could  not  be  expected  just  now,  because,  as  he 
had  often  told  her,  it  did  not  matter  to  him  where 
they  walked  or  what  he  saw,  so  that  she  was  with 
him.  It  was  delightful  to  have  Charley  think  in  this 
way  of  her,  but  she  wanted  him  to  love  hills  and  val- 
leys and  distant  mountains  and  beautiful  skies  as 
much  as  she  did.  She  intended  to  lead  his  mind  into 
a  true  regard  for  these  things,  and  she  knew  she 
could  do  it. 

As  they  were  returning  on  the  high  road,  going 
more  slowly  than  when  they  came,  Gay  looked  at  the 
horse  and  then  at  the  reins  in  Mr.  Stratford's  hands, 
and  then  she  looked  at  him,  and  plucked  up  courage 
to  ask,  in  hesitating  words,  if  he  would  let  her  drive 
a  little. 

"  Of  course,77  said  Stratford,  handing  the  reins  to 
her ;  "  do  yon  like  driving  ? 77 

"  I  have  scarcely  ever  tried  it,77  exclaimed  Gay,  "  but 
I  know  I  should  like  it  above  all  things.  I  used  to 
ride  sometimes  with  the  other  girls  when  I  was  at  col- 
lege, but  I  believe  I  should  like  driving  better.77 

"  It  depends  upon  the  horse  and  the  country  you 
are  in,77  replied  Stratford.  "  You  must  draw  the  reins 
a  little  tighter.  Let  me  show  you  how  to  hold  them.77 

Gay's  ideas  of  driving  were  exceedingly  crude,  but 
she  was  a  girl  of  quick  observation,  and  her  little 
hands  grasped  the  reins  in  exactly  the  manner  which 
Mr.  Stratford,  by  word  or  touch,  now  indicated.  The 


208  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

horse  gave  his  head  an  approving  nod  or  two  as  he 
felt  the  tightening  pressure  on  his  bit,  and  stepped 
out  well,  and  the  spirit  and  the  life  of  him  seemed  to 
come  through  the  long  leathern  lines  into  Gay's  hands, 
and  her  face  was  flushed  with  a  new-born  pleasure. 

"  I  feel/'  she  cried,  as  they  rolled  along,  "  exactly  as 
if  I  were  doing  it  all  myself." 

Stratford  laughed,  and  showed  her  how  to  do  it 
better,  warning  her  in  good  time,  before  she  reached 
them,  of  awkward  ruts  or  obtruding  stones.  Some 
of  these  she  hit  and  some  she  missed;  but  within  her 
glowed  and  sparkled  the  pleasure  of  the  driving,  until, 
with  a  wholly  unnecessary  "  Whoa ! "  she  drew  up  at 
Mrs.  Justin's  gate. 

"  I  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  admit  it,"  she  exclaimed 
when,  her  hands  in  those  of  Stratford,  she  had  sprung 
to  the  ground,  "  but  I  really  believe  that  driving  your 
horse  was  a  greater  delight  than  looking  at  those 
lovely  views.  That  ought  not  to  be,  but  it  is." 

The  next  day,  Mr.  Stratford  came  to  Mrs.  Justin's 
house  to  dinner,  and  his  hostess  found  herself  doing 
something  which  she  had  never  done  before.  She 
was  watching  her  guests,  particularly  Mr.  Crisman. 
She  was  curious  to  know  what  he  would  think,  if  Gay 
should  be  as  glad  to  see  Mr.  Stratford  as  she  had 
been  the  day  before.  There  was  no  reason  to  expect 
such  strong  demonstrations  of  delight,  and  none  such 
occurred;  but  there  was  a  show  of  hearty  good-fel- 
lowship, as  Stratford  and  the  young  lady  shook  each 
other  by  the  hand,  which  produced  an  impression 
upon  Mr.  Crisman.  It  was  plain  to  Mrs.  Justin  that 
he  was  surprised  to  see  it. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  209 

In  her  observations  of  Stratford  the  lady  of  the 
house  hoped  to  perceive  that  what  she  had  said  in  her 
letter  had  had  its  due  effect  upon  him,  and  although 
he  might  not  be  willing  to  acknowledge  that  he  had 
made  a  mistake,  that  he  would  show  by  his  conduct  — 
and  Mrs.  Justin  felt  quite  able  to  read  her  friend's 
convictions  through  his  conduct  —  that  he  had  aban- 
doned the  mad  plan  he  had  proposed  to  himself. 

But  she  saw  no  evidence  of  any  such  determination. 
In  fact,  Mr.  Stratford's  conduct  gave  her  more  con- 
cern than  it  had  ever  done  before.  On  previous 
occasions,  when  he  and  Crisman  had  been  together 
at  her  house,  Stratford  had  been  very  careful  not 
to  obtrude  himself  upon  the  lovers,  acting  in  unison 
with  his  hostess  to  give  them  every  opportunity  of 
enjoying  undisturbed  the  society  of  each  other.  But 
now  he  seemed  to  treat  Gay  as  a  young  lady  to  whom 
the  conversation  of  one  man  was  as  pleasant  as  that 
of  another.  There  was  no  attempt  to  interfere  with 
Mr.  Crisman's  efforts  to  make  himself  agreeable  to 
Gay  j  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  no  attempt 
to  offer  him  facilities  for  doing  so.  The  conversa- 
tion, therefore,  continued  to  be  a  general  one,  even 
for  some  time  after  dinner.  The  talk  turning  upon 
foreign  cities,  a  subject  in  which  Gay  was  greatly 
interested,  Stratford  opened  a  portfolio  of  photo- 
graphs collected  by  Mrs.  Justin  in  an  Italian  tour, 
and  began  to  show  Gay  some  of  the  places  they  had 
been  talking  about. 

The  soul  of  the  young  lady  was  soon  completely 
absorbed  in  traveling  from  temple  to  palace,  from 
olive  grove  to  crumbling  ruin,  in  company  with  one 


210  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

who  had  seen  them  all,  and  who  made  her  feel  as  if 
she  were  really  seeing  them  herself.  While  this  was 
going  on,  Mrs.  Justin  and  Crisman  continued  to  con- 
verse; but  the  young  man  soon  became  impatient, 
and,  rising,  began  to  walk  up  and  down  the  room, 
regarding  the  couple  at  the  portfolio  with  evident  dis- 
approbation. 

The  two  had  come  up  from  Naples,  had  wandered 
through  portions  of  Rome,  and  were  in  the  court-yard 
of  the  Palazzo  Vecchio  in  Florence,  when  the  mind 
of  Gay  became  troubled.  She  was  greatly  enjoying 
herself,  but  there  seemed  to  be  something  wanting ; 
and,  looking  up,  she  asked  Mr.  Crisman  if  he  did  not 
wish  to  come  and  look  at  these  photographs  and  have 
Mr.  Stratford  tell  him  all  about  them. 

"  Thank  you  kindly/'  said  Crisman,  "  but  I  don't 
care  for  photographs.  If  I  can't  see  the  real  thing 
I  am  perfectly  willing  to  let  it  all  go  by." 

Gay  made  no  answer,  but  her  countenance  became 
a  little  troubled,  and  she  began  to  turn  rapidly  the 
photographs,  merely  asking  a  question  here  and  there. 
Stratford  quickly  noticed  her  mood,  and  the  tour 
by  photography  was  soon  brought  quietly  to  an  end, 
as  if  they  had  both  grown  a  little  tired  of  it.  Cris- 
man had  now  gone  out  on  the  piazza  to  see  what  sort 
of  a  night  it  was.  Gay  followed  him  to  assist  him  in 
making  his  observations,  and  Stratford  saw  no  more 
of  the  two  that  evening. 

Mrs.  Justin  felt  a  little  provoked  with  her  friend, 
and  somewhat  inclined  to  scold  him,  and  yet,  she 
said  to  herself,  why  should  she  do  so  ?  After  asking 
him  to  come  to  her  house  and  be  the  same  friend  he 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  211 

had  been  -before,  should  she  now  begin  to  find  fault 
with  him  for  his  civilities  to  her  other  friends? 
There  was  really  no  occasion  to  reprove  him,  and  she 
did  not,  but  she  continued  to  feel  dissatisfied  with 
him,  all  the  same.  When  he  took  his  leave  he  per- 
ceived a  little  of  that  dissatisfaction  in  her  manner, 
but  he  resolutely  took  no  notice  of  it.  He  had  de- 
cided that  enough  had  been  said  between  him  and 
Mrs.  Justin  on  the  subject  of  Gay  and  her  lover,  and 
of  his  purpose  regarding  them  ;  and,  so  far  as  it  lay  in 
his  power,  he  would  avoid  saying  anything  more. 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast  Mr.  Crisman  allowed 
himself  to  make  some  remarks  which  were  decidedly 
uncomplimentary  to  Mr.  Stratford.  He  made  no 
attack  upon  that  gentleman,  but  he  delivered  himself 
of  some  general  opinions  which  were  evidently  in- 
tended to  include  Mr.  Stratford  in  their  application. 
The  tone  and  purpose  of  these  remarks  were  very 
displeasing  to  Mrs.  Justin.  It  was  not  unnatural, 
although  she  believed  it  to  be  without  sufficient  rea- 
son, that  Mr.  Crisman  should  feel  somewhat  annoyed 
that  a  man  should  engross  for  a  time  the  attention  of 
his  lady-love,  but  there  was  no  reason  whatever  why 
Mr.  Stratford  should  be  so  spoken  of  in  the  house  of 
his  friend.  Mrs.  Justin's  eyes  flashed  a  little,  and 
she  was  on  the  point  of  making  a  sharp  reply,  but 
remembering  that  Crisman  was  also  her  guest,  she 
restrained  herself,  and  found  a  quick  occasion  to 
change  the  conversation.  Gay  said  nothing,  but  it 
was  easy  enough  to  see  that  she  understood  the  full 
purport  of  Crisman's  words.  She  would  have  been 
glad  to  burst  out  with  the  vehement  assertion  that  if 


212  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mr.  Crisman  intended  to  include  Mr.  Stratford  among 
the  people  he  was  talking  about,  he  had  made  a  great 
mistake.  But  her  woman's  sense  taught  her  that  it 
would  be  unwise  in  her  to  undertake  the  defense  of 
Stratford  against  her  lover.  She  felt  it  was  cowardly 
to  remain  silent,  but  she  did  so,  hoping,  however,  most 
earnestly,  that  Mrs.  Justin  would  speak. 

Mrs.  Justin  did  speak.  Crisman  would  not  allow 
the  conversation  to  remain  changed,  and  made  an- 
other unpleasant  allusion  to  Stratford,  more  pointed 
than  anything  he  had  said  before.  This  was  too 
much  for  the  hostess  to  endure,  even  from  a  guest, 
and  in  a  few  words,  a  little  more  prompt  in  delivery 
than  she  intended  them  to  be,  she  assured  Mr.  Cris- 
man that  she  knew  many  persons  who  were  extremely 
willing  to  impart  their  information,  and  very  quick 
to  see  where  such  information  would  be  of  advantage, 
but  who  were  neither  vain  of  their  knowledge,  nor 
used  it  as  a  means  of  insolently  showing  their  supe- 
riority to  other  people.  As  an  instance  of  such  per- 
sons she  mentioned  Mr.  Stratford. 

Gay  was  delighted  with  this  reply,  and  looked  her 
thanks  to  Mrs.  Justin.  The  latter  noticed  them,  but 
received  them  with  slight  satisfaction.  She  was  de- 
fending her  friend  for  her  own  sake,  not  for  Gay's. 

Crisman  smiled.  His  shot  had  hit,  and  the  hit  had 
been  acknowledged.  He  was  satisfied,  and,  after 
remarking  that  it  was  all  right  to  stand  up  for  one's 
friends  and  that  he  did  not  intend  to  pitch  into  any- 
body, he  changed  the  conversation  of  his  own  accord, 
and  bore  during  the  rest  of  the  meal  the  greater  part 
of  it  himself. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  213 

All  that  afternoon  Mr.  Stratford  was  expected  by 
Mrs.  Justin  and  Gay.  They  hoped  he  would  come, 
not  only  because  they  were  always  glad  to  see  him, 
but  because  they  felt  that,  in  a  manner,  he  owed  it  to 
himself  not  to  keep  in  the  background  when  his  char- 
acter had  been  assailed.  To  be  sure,  he  did  not  know 
that  anything  had  been  said  against  him,  but  Mrs. 
Justin  and  Gay  knew  it,  and  that  was  sufficient  rea- 
son for  them  to  think  he  should  come  forward  and 
show  himself.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  both 
feared  his  coming.  For  every  reason  they  greatly 
desired  peace,  and  they  had  some  cause  to  suppose 
that  if  Mr.  Crisman  and  Stratford  were  in  the  house 
together  that  day  there  might  not  be  peace.  This 
was  a  very  unpleasant  thought  to  think;  and  Gay, 
on  her  part,  assured  herself  that  there  was  not  the 
least  reason  in  the  world  for  thinking  it ;  and  yet, 
being  a  young  person  with  a  sensitiveness  of  percep- 
tion which  she  was  not  yet  capable  of  appreciating, 
she  thought  it  all  the  same.  As  for  Mr.  Crisman,  he 
intended,  if  that  very  superior  gentleman  from  the 
Bullripple  farm  made  his  appearance  at  Mrs.  Jus- 
tin's house  that  day,  to  give  him  a  cold  shoulder,  and, 
if  necessary,  a  sharp  elbow.  But  Mr.  Stratford  did 
not  come,  and  although  the  day  proved  to  be  rather 
a  dull  one,  it  was  a  very  placid  one. 

That  afternoon  Mr.  Stratford  took  a  walk  by  him- 
self over  the  fields  and  hills.  He  had  intended  going 
to  Mrs.  Justin's,  but  he,  too,  had  quick  perceptions, 
and,  while  he  had  no  idea  of  relinquishing  his  pur- 
poses, he  would  not  intentionally  do  anything  that 
might  disturb  the  harmony  of  Mrs.  Justin's  home, 


214  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

and  lie  had  believed,  when  on  the  evening  before  he 
had  seen  Crisman  walk  restlessly  up  and  down  the 
room,  that  harmony  might  easily  be  disturbed. 

Over  the  fields,  that  afternoon,  also,  walked  Miss 
Matilda  Stull.  When  she  saw  from  afar  a  gentleman 
crossing  the  same  field,  she  recognized  immediately 
that  this  was  the  Mr.  Stratford  who  lived  at  the  Bull- 
ripple  farm.  Then  said  Matilda  to  herself,  "  How  I 
do  wish  that  he  had  lived  here  when  I  was  a  little 
girl  playing  about  these  fields ;  that  his  uncle  had 
owned  a  wicked  bull;  and  that  I  knew  him  well 
enough  to  stop  and  talk  about  it.  Of  course  I  don't 
wish  that  I  had  met  him  at  a  restaurant  where  I  paid 
him  money  for  my  luncheon,  but  it  would  be  ever  so 
nice  if  I  had  made  his  acquaintance  at  some  suitable 
place,  and  could  now  stop  and  talk  to  him  about  old 
times.  And  if  he  would  walk  with  me,  and  show  me 
the  way,  and  let  down  the  bars  for  me  —  that  would 
be  another  sort  of  thing  altogether  ! " 

As  Mr.  Stratford  passed,  he  raised  his  hat,  and  Miss 
Stull  slightly  bowed.  She  knew  that  when  gentlemen 
and  ladies  met  each  other  in  these  out-of-the-way 
places  it  was  quite  proper  that  they  should  recognize 
each  other's  presence.  And  now  Miss  Stull  walked 
on  with  a  quick  step.  It  was  only  the  afternoon  be- 
fore that,  standing  in  a  little  shop,  she  had  seen  Mrs. 
Justin  and  Gay  drive  through  the  village  on  their 
way  to  the  station,  where  they  were  going  to  meet 
Mr.  Crisman.  And  now  she  had  encountered  face  to 
face  that  gentleman  who  had  excited  her  interest 
when  refreshing  herself  under  the  Bullripple  oak. 

"It  is  perfectly  ridiculous,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"that  all  these  people  should  be  in  this  neighbor- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  215 

hood,  and  I  not  know  them.  None  of  them  have 
called,  but  I  suppose  they  haven't  the  slightest  idea 
we  are  here.  Mother  does  n't  want  to  know  anybody, 
and  is  glad  to  shut  herself  up.  If  father  were  here  it 
would  be  different;  but  I  am  not  going  to  wait  for 
him.  They  have  got  to  call  on  us,  and  I  shall  make 
it  my  business  to  see  that  they  do  it." 


CHAPTER   XVII 


R.  STULL  did  not  go  into  the  coun- 
try with  his  family,  for  it  was  nec- 
essary for  him  to  remain  some  time 
longer  in  the  city,  in  order  to  give 
attention  to  several  branches  of  his 
varied  business  which  had  been  neg- 
lected when  his  mind  and  time  had  been  so  greatly 
occupied  by  the  disturbances  at  Vatoldi's.  But  this 
occasioned  no  delay  in  the  opening  of  his  operations 
against  the  peace  and  welfare  of  Enoch  Bullripple. 
He  had  no  intention  of  doing  anything  in  his  proper 
person,  and  his  presence  was  not  at  all  necessary  at 
the  scene  of  action.  Without  allowing  his  motives 
to  make  any  appearance  whatever,  he  had  engaged  a 
competent  agent  to  investigate  the  title-deeds  and 
original  surveys  of  the  Bullripple  farm ;  and  he  had 
found,  as  he  had  expected  to  find,  that  not  only  was 
the  old  man's  tenure  of  his  property  a  very  uncertain 
one,  having  depended  for  its  endurance  principally 
upon  the  fact  that  no  one  had  ever  cared  to  investi- 
gate its  validity,  but  that  there  was  an  equal  doubt 
of  legal  ownership  in  regard  to  the  farm  which  he 
himself  had  acquired  from  Mrs.  People.  Mr.  Stull 
had  reason  to  suspect  this  when  he  bought  up  the 
mortgages  which  eventually  gave  him  possession  of 

216 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  217 

the  farm,  but  the  property  came  to  him  so  easily  he 
was  willing  to  take  the  risks  in  regard  to  the  title. 
Now  it  would  serve  his  purpose  very  well,  if,  when 
the  time  came  to  push  Enoch  Bullripple  to  the  wall, 
the  old  man  could  also  see  that  Mr.  Stull  was  being 
pushed.  That  would  make  it  impossible  for  Enoch 
or  his  nephew  to  suppose  that  he  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  matter. 

But  Mr.  Stull  was  an  excellent  manager  and  a 
shrewd  business  man,  and  he  did  not  propose  that 
the  pushing  he  might  receive  should  hurt  him  in  the 
least.  His  present  action  was  not  entirely  based  on 
his  desire  to  retaliate  on  the  old  farmer  for  the  insults 
and  injuries  the  latter  had  heaped  upon  him.  If 
things  should  turn  out  as  he  expected,  there  was 
reason  to  hope  that  there  would  be  much  profit  for 
him  in  his  proposed  transactions.  The  lands  in  ques- 
tion were  not  worth  very  much,  looked  upon  from  an 
agricultural  point  of  view,  but  it  was  possible  that 
they  might,  otherwise,  be  very  valuable.  Iron  ore 
in  paying  quantities  had  been  found  in  various  parts 
of  this  region ;  and  Mr.  StulFs  observations  had  led 
him  to  believe  that  the  rolling  country  about  Cherry 
Bridge  was  as  likely  to  contain  iron  as  any  of  the 
places  where  it  had  already  been  found.  It  would 
please  him  very  well  to  form  a  company  and  put  up 
a  smelting-furnace  on  some  spot  convenient  to  the 
railroad ;  but,  before  he  did  this,  he  would  like  to 
become  the  owner  of  as  much  valuable  mineral  land 
in  the  vicinity  as  he  could  lay  his  hand  upon.  If  there 
should  be  iron  on  his  own  farm,  he  would  be  very 
willing  to  give  up  his  present  hold  upon  it  in  order 
19 


218  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  acquire  another  hold  which  should  be  firm  and 
secure  ;  and  if  the  Bullripple  property  should  contain 
the  desirable  metal,  he  would  most  certainly  buy  up 
that  property  if  it  were  forced  into  the  market. 

The  agent  selected  to  conduct  these  investigations 
was  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  the  work ;  and,  had 
he  not  undertaken  it,  it  is  doubtful  if  Mr.  Stull  could 
have  found  any  one  to  whom  he  would  have  been 
willing  to  intrust  it.  This  individual  was  Mr.  Zenas 
Turby,  who  lived  in  the  county  town  not  far  from 
Cherry  Bridge,  where  he  engaged  in  a  variety  of 
vocations,  most  of  which  had  some  connection  with 
the  law.  He  collected  debts,  and  took  up  any  odds 
or  ends  of  legal  business  which  could  be  attended 
to  by  one  who  was  not  an  actual  lawyer.  In  the 
course  of  a  long  and  intrusive  life  he  had  picked  up 
a  great  deal  of  information,  legal  and  otherwise, 
which  frequently  caused  him  to  shine  in  the  light  of 
a  useful  man.  There  was  one  piece  of  business  which 
most  of  his  neighbors  would  have  been  very  glad  to 
see  him  engaged  in,  and  that  was  an  early  attendance 
at  his  own  funeral.  But  Mr.  Turby  had  declined 
for  many  years  to  gratify  this  popular  desire,  and, 
although  now  over  sixty,  was  so  hale  and  hearty 
that  the  prevailing  hope  in  his  direction  seemed  likely 
to  be  much  deferred. 

Among  his  other  accomplishments  Mr.  Turby  was 
skilled  in  the  search  for  iron  ore,  and  this  helped  in 
a  great  degree  to  make  him  unpopular.  The  farmers 
in  this  part  of  the  country  had  no  desire  to  profit  by 
the  discovery  of  ore  on  their  property.  The  profit 
they  received  from  the  culture  of  the  surface  of  their 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  219 

fields  was  as  satisfactory  to  them  as  it  had  been  to 
their  fathers,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  dig  and  blast 
into  the  bowels  of  their  farms  in  the  pursuit  of  what 
might  or  might  not  be  concealed  therein.  There  were 
a  few  who  had  been  shown  the  errors  of  this  con- 
servatism, but  the  greater  part  of  them  still  asserted 
that  they  wanted  nobody  prowling  and  prying  around 
their  farms  looking  for  iron.  Even  if  it  should  be 
found,  there  was  at  present  no  furnace  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and,  consequently,  no  immediate  demand 
for  the  ore  ;  and,  more  than  that,  they  were  unable 
to  rid  their  minds  of  their  old-fashioned  prejudices 
against  allowing  other  men  to  come  and  work  upon 
their  lands. 

Mr.  Turby  was  very  well  pleased  to  take  up  this 
piece  of  business  for  Mr.  Stull.  There  was  gain  in  it, 
and,  besides,  all  the  fighting  that  would  have  to  be 
done  would  be  against  Enoch  Bullripple,  and  Turby 
liked  that.  For  many  years,  and  in  various  ways, 
these  two  had  been  pitted  against  each  other,  when- 
ever occasion  could  be  found  for  such  pitting.  What- 
ever one  believed  in  politics,  religion,  or  in  regard  to 
almost  anything  else,  was  doubted  or  denied  by  the 
other,  and  the  fact  that  they  were  the  two  sharpest 
old  fellows  in  that  county  was  reason  enough  for 
their  being  very  sharp  against  each  other. 

Hitherto  Enoch  had  generally  got  the  better  of 
Zenas  Turby,  and  the  latter,  therefore,  was  very  zeal- 
ous in  an  affair  which  might  give  him  the  upper 
hand  —  and  a  very  hard  and  horny  upper  hand  —  of 
a  man  who  had  not  failed  to  get  him  down  whenever 
it  had  been  possible. 


220  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

The  investigations  regarding  the  title-deeds  and 
surveys  of  the  estates  in  question  had  been  carried 
on  at  the  county  town,  and  Mr.  Turby  having  made 
a  satisfactory  report  upon  these,  it  now  remained  to 
look  into  the  iron  branch  of  the  business  before  Mr. 
Stull  definitely  determined  how  he  would  proceed  in 
the  affair.  This  made  it  necessary  for  Zenas  Turby 
to  visit  the  village  of  Cherry  Bridge  ;  and  to  Cherry 
Bridge  he  came. 

It  was  on  a  rainy  morning  that  Mr.  Bullripple, 
mounted  on  a  gray  horse  which  would  have  been 
plowing  in  the  corn-field  had  the  weather  been  fair, 
rode  up  to  the  village  house  of  entertainment,  and 
tied  his  horse  under  a  shed.  There  were  several  men 
,  sitting  in  a  large  covered  porch  in  front  of  the  house, 
but  the  first  person  Enoch  saw  was  Zenas  Turby.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  in  the  mind  of  either  of  these 
men  there  ever  arose  a  desire  for  social  converse  with 
the  other,  and  yet,  whenever  they  happened  to  meet, 
each  experienced  certain  snappy  emotions  which  were 
not  unpleasurable. 

"You  here,  Zenas  Turby?"  said  Enoch,  as  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  one  vacant  wooden  arm-chair, 
"  Haven't  seen  you  in  Cherry  Bridge  for  a  good 
while.  I  thought,  perhaps,  that  sulky  of  yourn  had 
broke  down  at  last  from  your  havin'  forgot  yourself 
and  taken  somebody  in  with  you." 

As  he  said  this  Mr.  Bullripple  smiled,  and  looked 
around  at  the  other  men  sitting  in  wooden  arm- 
chairs, most  of  whom  being  his  neighbors  returned 
him  an  answering  grimace  of  approbation  of  the  lit- 
tle thrust  he  had  given  Zenas  Turby. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  221 

The  latter  did  not  smile.  He  was  a  strong,  heavily 
built  man.  His  face  was  smooth-shaven,  and  the 
little  hair  he  had  on  his  head  was  curly  and  of  a 
reddish,  sandy  hue  which  made  it  difficult  to  perceive 
whether  it  was  turning  gray  or  not.  He  wore  a  long 
black  coat,  and  the  rest  of  his  clothes  and  his  hat 
were  black,  and  he  carried  a  stout  cane  with  a  long 
curved  handle,  well  polished  by  the  use  of  many 
years.  He  did  not  need  this  cane,  but  always  took 
it  with  him  when  he  drove.  On  such  occasions  he 
used  it  as  a  prodder  with  which  to  remind  his  horse 
that  time  is  money  j  and  when  walking  he  carried  it 
as  a  symbol  of  authority  and  a  punctuator  of  his  re- 
marks. Now  he  gave  a  tap  upon  the  floor  which 
might  indicate  the  opening  of  a  paragraph,  and  fix- 
ing his  sharp  blue  eyes  upon  his  old  antagonist,  he 
said:  "It's  all  very  well  for  you,  Enoch  Bullripple, 
to  keep  on  talking  about  my  sulky,  for  I  expect 
there's  been  many  a  time  when  you've  wished  it  held 
two  instead  of  one,  so  that  you  might  get  a  chance  of 
using  some  other  person's  horse-flesh  instead  of  your 
own,  but  I've  lived  long  enough  to  know  it's  a  sight 
better  for  a  man  that's  got  business  to  attend  to  to 
drive  about  in  somethin'  that  will  hold  himself  and 
nobody  else ;  so  that  wherever  he  goes  he  won't  be 
asked  to  give  somebody  a  lift  who's  too  lazy  to  walk, 
or  too  stingy  to  keep  a  horse.  My  sulky  carries  me 
about  all  right,  but  it  won't  carry  nobody  else,  and 
this  suits  me  very  well,  even  if  it  does  sometimes 
come  hard  on  you,  Enoch  Bullripple."  And  the  big 
cane  came  down  on  the  floor,  marking  a  period  appar- 
ently very  satisfactory  to  the  speaker. 


222  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mr.  Bullripple  grinned.  "  There's  no  man  in  this 
county/7  said  he,  "  outside  of  a  lunatic  asylum  that 
would  see  you  driving  by  with  an  empty  four-seated 
wagon  and  ask  for  a  lift  in  it  if  he  didn't  have  enough 
money  in  his  pocket  to  pay  you  a  little  more  than 
common  stage  fare.  And  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  the 
reason  you  stick  to  a  sulky  is  to  keep  yourself  from 
the  temptation  of  stagin7  without  a  license." 

At  this  two  or  three  of  the  company  laughed,  and 
Mr.  Turby  frowned.  But  Enoch,  not  caring  for  any 
reply  to  this  remark,  continued  to  speak. 

"  But  what  brought  you  up  here  anyway,  Zenas  ?  " 
he  said.  "  'Tain't  the  time  o'  year  for  collectin'  bills. 
Did  you  come  to  look  for  iron  !  I've  heard  you've 
been  goin'  into  that  business." 

Now  nothing  could  have  angered  Mr.  Turby  more 
than  this  remark.  Sneers  in  regard  to  his  narrow- 
ness of  disposition  were  not  new  to  him,  but  he  flat- 
tered himself  that  he  always  succeeded  in  keeping 
his  business  a  secret  until  he  chose  to  divulge  it. 
But  here,  at  the  very  first  question,  Enoch  had  hit 
upon  the  object  of  his  visit  to  Cherry  Bridge. 

"Whether  it's  iron  or  gold  or  paper  money,  it's 
none  of  your  business,  Enoch  Bullripple.  That  is  to 

say "  but  here  he  checked  himself.  He  wished 

to  make  it  very  much  the  business  of  the  other,  but 
that  was  a  matter  which  must  not  now  be  touched 
upon.  "All  that  I've  got  to  say  about  iron  is  just 
this:  that  there  never  was  a  bigger  fool  than  the 
man  who'd  go  on  plowin'  and  workin'  his  stony  old 
fields  and  not  get  enough  in  any  year  to  pay  his  hon- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  223 

est  debts,  when  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  say  the  word 
and  have  a  company  dig  iron  out  of  his  hills  —  and 
not  hurt  his  fields  and  pastures  nuther  —  and  pay 
him  fifty  cents  for  every  load  of  ore  took  out.  But 
there  are  fools  of  that  kind  and  plenty  of  ?em,  who 
might  live  in  comfort  and  send  their  children  to 
school  if  they  only  had  sense  enough  to  let  other 
people  come  and  get  out  of  their  farms  the  only 
thing  worth  gettin'  out  of  ?em." 

"  It's  one  thing/'  said  Enoch, "  to  own  land  with  min- 
erals in  it  and  to  go  to  work  and  get  them  minerals 
and  make  money  on  ?em.  But  it's  altogether  another 
thing  to  have  a  man  come  that  p'raps  don't  know  no 
more  about  it  than  that  p'inter  dog,  and  dig  here, 
there,  and  anywhere,  on  your  farm,  and  then  go  off 
and  say  that  there  ain't  iron  enough  on  it  to  make  a 
horse-shoe,  arid  so  spile  your  chance  of  sellin'  a  part 
of  your  land  if  a  company  ever  did  come  along  that 
wanted  to  buy  it.  Nobody  wants  a  fellow  huntin' 
for  iron  on  his  place  who's  got  a  report  to  sell  to  the 
highest  bidder." 

This  was  a  hard  hit,  because  a  story  had  once 
been  told  that  a  farmer  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
county  town  had  been  urged  by  Mr.  Turby  to  employ 
him  to  make  a  report  on  the  mineral  value  of  his 
lands,  offering  as  a  reason  that  it  would  be  much 
better  for  the  owner  of  a  farm  if  the  investigating 
agent  had  his  interests  at  heart  instead  of  those  of 
the  would-be  purchaser.  As  the  country  people  of 
that  region  had  an  old-fashioned  idea  that  a  report 
should  be  a  simple  statement  of  facts  without  refer- 


224  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ence  to  the  interests  of  any  particular  employer,  this 
story  thickened  the  cloud  that  for  a  long  time  had 
shaded  Mr.  Turby. 

Zenas  frowned  and  looked  steadily  at  the  floor.  "  I 
shouldn't  think/7  said  he,  speaking  slowly  but  very  for- 
cibly, "  that  a  man  that  goes  off  on  some  sort  of  a 
shindy  in  the  very  busiest  part  of  the  year  and  leaves 
his  farm  to  take  care  of  itself  and  go  to  rack  and 
ruin  fur  all  he  knows,  ought  to  have  anythin7  to  say 
about  what  industrious  fore-handed  people  choose  to 
do  with  their  lands." 

"  A  part  of  what  you  say,  Zenas  Turby,"  answered 
Mr.  Bullripple,  "  is  exactly  right,  and  that  is  that 
you  shouldn't  think.  Thinkin7  is  a  business  that  you 
ain7t  suited  for.  There's  a  good  many  kinds  of  work 
that  you  can  do  first-rate,  but  you  ought  to  get  some- 
body else  to  do  your  thinkin7.  You  was  just  right 
when  you  said  you  should n7t  think.77 

At  this  there  was  a  burst  of  laughter  from  the  men 
in  wooden  arm-chairs ;  and  Mr.  Turby  rose  to  his 
feet  to  make  an  angry  reply.  But  he  was  not  so 
quick  of  speech  as  was  Enoch,  and  the  moment  the 
laughter  ceased,  the  latter,  also  rising,  got  in  ahead 
of  his  antagonist,  and  remarked  :  "  I  haven't  got  no 
time  to  stay  here  any  longer  palaverin'  about  iron 
lands.  But  I711  just  say  this,  Zenas  Turby,  that  it's 
a  mighty  good  thing  when  a  farmer  gets  his  place 
in  such  a  condition  that  when  he  wants  to  go  a-way 
for  a  while  to  attend  to  some  other  business,  it  can 
run  itself.'7 


CHAPTER   XVIII 


ISS  MATILDA  STULL  was  very 
well  aware  that  in  her  endeavors 
to  get  into  the  Cherry  Bridge  so- 
ciety she  need  not  depend  in  the 
least  on  her  mother.  That  lady 
was  too  glad  to  get  away  from  the 
irksome  and  often  embarrassing  social  demands  of 
the  city  to  wish  now  for  society  of  any  kind.  Usu- 
ally spending  the  summer  at  some  fashionable  water- 
ing-place, the  quiet  of  this  mountain  farm-house  gave 
her  a  sense  of  delightful  repose  she  had  not  known 
for  years,  and  she  was  entirely  satisfied  with  the  pro- 
tracted absence  of  her  husband,  who,  if  he  had  been 
upon  the  scene,  would  most  probably  have  insisted, 
as  he  always  insisted  elsewhere,  that  she  should  push 
to  the  front  of  whatever  society  she  might  find  about 
her  and  make  herself  clearly  visible  as  the  wife  of 
J.  Weatherby  Stull. 

But  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  house  felt  that  she 
was  quite  able  to  further  her  own  interests  in  this 
matter,  and,  with  this  view,  she  set  out  on  a  walk  to 
see  Mrs.  People.  When  her  father  should  return  she 
knew  that  she  would  be  obliged  to  take  the  horses 
and  the  carriage  when  she  wanted  to  go  about  the 
country,  but  now  it  suited  her  purpose  much  better 

225 


226  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  walk.  It  was  easier  to  meet  people,  and  perhaps 
to  stop  and  talk  with  them,  when  walking  than  in 
driving  in  the  carriage.  She  looked  upon  Mrs.  People 
as  the  only  present  thread  of  connection  between  her- 
self and  the  Cherry  Bridge  gentry,  and  it  was  her 
intention  to  make  that  good  woman  understand  that 
it  was  her  duty  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  Mrs. 
Justin  the  importance  of  an  early  call  upon  the  ladies 
of  the  Stull  family,  people  of  high  position  who  had 
recently  arrived  in  the  neighborhood.  She  did  not 
attempt  to  deceive  herself  with  the  notion  that  anxi- 
ety to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Justin  was  at 
the  bottom  of  her  intended  action,  but  she  freely 
admitted  to  her  own  consciousness  that  through  that 
lady  the  acquaintance  of  gentlemen,  often  a  most 
necessary  adjunct  in  the  enjoyment  of  country  life, 
would  probably  be  made. 

She  was  yet  some  little  distance  from  the  Bullripple 
house,  when  she  met  John  People,  who  was  coming 
toward  her  on  the  narrow  path  through  the  grass  at 
the  side  of  the  road.  John  was  in  his  shirt-sleeves. 
He  wore  a  broad  straw  hat,  and  on  his  shoulder  he 
carried  a  hay-rake.  His  portly  and  upright  figure 
appeared  so  well  in  this  rural  guise  that  Miss  Stull 
could  not  help  wishing  for  a  moment  that  he  were  a 
gentleman  disporting  himself  thus  for  his  own  pleas- 
ure, instead  of  being  the  son  of  that  fat  Mrs.  People, 
taking  a  holiday  from  his  restaurant,  and  working  on 
the  farm.  Had  she  expected  no  other  opportunities 
of  male  society  during  her  country  sojourn,  Miss 
Matilda  would  have  been  willing  to  ramble  over  the 
woods  and  fields  with  the  sturdy  John  •  but,  as  she 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  227 

had  a  lively  hope  of  doing  something  better  in  this 
line,  she  now  looked  upon  him  only  in  the  light 
of  a  possible  stepping-stone  to  some  advantageous 
foothold. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  People/'  she  said,  "  isn't  this 
a  beautiful  day  ? 77 

John  returned  the  salutation,  and,  taking  off  his 
hat,  exposed  to  view  his  short  yellow  locks,  as 
smoothly  and  evenly  brushed  as  Miss  Stull  had  ever 
seen  them  at  Vatoldi's. 

"  Are  you  going  to  work  in  the  fields  ? "  she  said 
presently,  as  the  two  stopped. 

"  I  was  going,"  said  John,  with  an  emphasis  upon  the 
"  was  '7  intending  to  indicate  that  such  should  not  be 
his  present  purpose  if  Miss  Matilda  gave  him  an 
opportunity  of  remaining  in  her  society. 

Miss  Matilda  understood  the  intonation  perfectly, 
and  she  hesitated  for  a  moment  before  she  spoke.  If 
the  mother  should  happen  to  be  away  it  might  be  a 
good  thing  to  take  a  walk  with  the  son,  and  if  she 
could  derive  no  other  advantage  from  the  ramble  she 
felt  that  she  could  obtain  from  John  some  additional 
information  in  regard  to  the  persons  whose  acquaint- 
ance she  desired. 

"  Is  Mrs.  People  at  home  ?  "  she  said,  "  and  disen- 
gaged?7' 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  John,  "  and  she  will  be  very  glad  to 
see  you.  There's  a  lady  in  the  house  now,  but  I  don't 
think  she  intends  to  stay  very  long." 

"  Who  is  it  t "  asked  Miss  Stull  quickly. 

"  It  is  Miss  Armatt,  the  young  lady  who  is  staying 
with  Mrs.  Justin.7' 


228  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"Oh,  indeed !  »  said  Miss  Matilda.  "  I  think  I'll  go 
in  and  make  a  little  call  on  your  mother.  Good- 
morning.7' 

John  stepped  aside  to  let  her  pass,  and  over  his  face 
there  came  a  shadow  of  disappointment.  He  did  not 
know  exactly  what  he  had  expected,  but,  whatever  it 
might  have  been,  he  was  not  going  to  get  it,  and  he 
could  not  prevent  the  shadow. 

"Won't  you  walk  with  me  as  far  as  the  gate?" 
asked  Miss  Matilda  with  a  smile.  "I  don't  always 
understand  the  opening  of  these  big  gates." 

She  was  not  a  workman  who  dropped  her  chisel 
and  saw  into  the  dust  and  chips  whenever  she  did  not 
happen  to  be  using  them. 

When,  with  another  smile,  she  parted  from  John  at 
the  gate,  she  stepped  very  quickly  towards  the  house. 
Miss  Armatt's  presence  there  was  a  rare  piece  of  good 
fortune,  and  she  was  very  anxious  to  arrive  before 
that  lady  left. 

Gay  had  walked  over,  across  the  fields,  on  an  errand 
for  Mrs.  Justin,  who  was  very  glad  to  give  her  young 
friend  an  object  for  her  morning  walk,  and  thereby 
secure  for  herself  the  uninterrupted  company  of  Mr. 
Stratford,  who  had  come,  by  appointment,  to  assist 
her  in  the  auditing  of  some  complicated  accounts  of 
the  association  of  which  they  both  were  members. 

Mrs.  People  was  about  half  through  one  of  her  long 
statements  of  facts  when  Miss  Stull  appeared,  and 
she  and  Miss  Armatt  were  made  acquainted. 

The  visit  of  the  two  young  ladies  proved  to  be  quite 
a  long  one,  for  Mrs.  People  was  very  anxious  to  talk. 
Miss  Gay  did  not  wish  to  leave  until  she  had  fuDy 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  229 

attended  to  her  errand,  and  Miss  Matilda  did  her 
best  to  make  herself  agreeable  without  regard  to  the 
passage  of  time.  When,  at  last,  Gay  had  said  that 
she  positively  must  go,  and  her  business  had  been 
promptly  brought  to  a  conclusion,  Miss  Stull  dis- 
covered that  she  would  not  be  going  out  of  her  way 
if  she  should  walk  over  a  field  or  two  with  her  new- 
made  acquaintance,  and  so  they  set  out  together. 

Mrs.  Justin  and  Stratford,  having  finished  their 
business,  were  standing  together  on  the  piazza,  when 
the  former  exclaimed : 

"  Who's  that  coming  over  the  field  with  Gay  ? " 

Stratford  looked  steadfastly,  but  at  first  he  was 
unable  to  answer.  Presently,  however,  he  recognized 
the  young  lady  whom  he  had  seen  at  the  Bullripple 
farm,  and  in  regard  to  whom  he  had  made  inquiries 
of  Mrs.  People. 

"  That."  said  he,  "  is  a  daughter  of  J.  Weatherby 
Stull.  His  family  are,  at  present,  at  his  farm.  But 
it  seems  rather  odd  that  Miss  Armatt  should  be  ac- 
quainted with  his  daughter." 

Mrs.  Justin  had  never  heard  anything  of  J.  Weath- 
erby Stull  that  she  liked.  It  was  during  the  life-time 
of  her  husband  that  Stull  had  acquired  his  present 
possessions  in  the  neighborhood,  and  Mr.  Justin  had 
been  very  indignant  at  the  relentless  manner  in  which 
Mrs.  People  had  been  driven  from  her  home.  Even 
if  she  had  not  looked  upon  the  opinions  of  her  hus- 
band as  a  guide  for  her  own  judgments,  Mrs.  Justin 
would  have  despised  the  things  that  Mr.  Stull  had 
done,  and  would  have  despised  the  man  who  did 
them.  He  had  lived  very  little  on  his  farm  after  it 
20 


230  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

had  come  into  his  possession,  and,  while  there,  it  had 
never  entered  into  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Justin  that  it 
was  possible  for  her  to  call  upon  his  family.  She 
had  heard  that  they  had  again  come  into  the  neigh- 
borhood, but,  although  much  of  her  old  resentment 
at  the  man's  actions  had  faded  away,  she  did  not 
consider  the  Stulls  as  people  with  whom  she  had  the 
least  concern,  and  had  almost  forgotten  that  she  had 
been  told  of  their  coming. 

Mrs.  Justin  looked  gravely  at  the  two  young 
women,  who  had  now  stopped  and  appeared  to  be 
talking  quite  earnestly.  "  I  don't  understand  it," 
she  said;  "Gay  never  mentioned  the  Stulls  to  me, 
and  that  does  not  look  like  a  recent  acquaintanceship. 
They  are  evidently  taking  leave  of  each  other,  and 
yet  it  seems  impossible  for  them  to  tear  themselves 
apart." 

This  difficult  deed  was,  however,  accomplished,  and 
while  Miss  Matilda  turned  back  and  took  her  way 
across  the  fields,  Gay  came  hurrying  homeward.  She 
threw  herself  into  a  piazza  chair  and  made  her  report, 
and  it  was  plain  enough  to  her  hearers  that  she  had 
been  very  favorably  impressed  by  Miss  Stull. 

"She's  a  very  nice  girl,"  she  said,  "and  as  friendly 
as  she  can  be.  She  intended  to  walk  only  a  little  way 
with  me,  but  we  had  so  much  to  say  that  we  got 
almost  here  before  we  knew  it.  I  wanted  her  to 
come  in  and  rest  herself,  but  this  she  would  not  do, 
for  she  seems  to  be  very  particular  about  such  things, 
and  said  it  would  not  be  proper  for  her  to  come  here 
before  any  of  this  family  had  called  upon  her  mother 
and  herself.  I  suppose  we  ought  to  call  on  them  as 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  231 

soon  as  we  can,"  she  continued,  turning  to  Mrs.  Justin. 
"  I  should  think  they  would  be  very  pleasant  neigh- 
bors. And  what  I  particularly  like  about  Miss  Stull  is 
that  she  seems  so  much  fonder  of  this  country  than  of 
the  fashionable  places  she  is  in  the  habit  of  going  to." 

Mrs.  Justin  did  not  immediately  answer.  She  had 
an  instinctive  aversion  towards  anything  that  bore 
the  name  of  Stull,  but  her  conscience  would  not  allow 
her  to  believe  that  the  sins  of  a  husband  and  father 
should  be  visited  upon  a  wife  and  daughter,  and  she 
could  readily  understand  that  it  would  be  a  severe 
punishment  to  ladies  accustomed  to  society  to  find 
themselves  in  a  country  place  where  their  few  neigh- 
bors would  not  associate  with  them.  But  it  is  possi- 
ble that  even  these  conscientious  and  kindly  feelings 
would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  urge  her  to  an  early 
movement  in  the  direction  of  her  social  duties  to  the 
new-comers  had  not  a  fresh  motive  come  to  their  as- 
sistance. It  was  evident  that  Gay  had  conceived  a 
liking  for  Miss  Stull,  and  it  occurred  to  Mrs.  Justin 
that  if  her  young  protegee  could  form  a  friendship 
with  one  of  her  own  sex  and  age,  it  would  interfere 
very  much  with  that  friendship  for  Mr.  Stratford 
about  which  she  found  that  she  still  had  some  fears, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  had  persuaded  her- 
self that  Gay's  love  for  Crisman  would  be  invulner- 
able against  all  attacks,  whether  made  under  the  guise 
of  friendship  or  any  other  sentiment. 

She  was  glad  to  find  that  Mr.  Stull  was  not  ex- 
pected to  join  his  family  very  soon,  and  that  his 
daughter  had  said  that,  when  he  came,  he  probably 
would  not  stay  long. 


232  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Miss  Matilda  had  heard  that  there  had  once  been 
unpleasant  feelings  between  her  father  and  the  Jus- 
tins,  and  she  was  a  young  woman  who  generally 
knew  what  to  say  and  when  to  say  it. 

If,  therefore,  there  was  but  little  chance  of  having 
anything  to  do  with  Mr.  Stull,  it  might  be  well,  so 
reasoned  Mrs.  Justin,  to  call  upon  his  wife  and 
daughter  j  and  if  the  latter  should  appear  to  be  the 
extremely  pleasant  young  lady  that  Gray  thought  her 
to  be,  a  companionship  between  the  two  would  prob- 
ably be  a  desirable  thing.  Gay's  enthusiasm  over 
this  new  acquaintance  was  very  encouraging  to  Mrs. 
Justin.  "  That  seems  to  be  her  natural  disposition,77 
she  thought,  "in  regard  to  friendships,  and  it  may 
not  mean  as  much  as  I  supposed  it  did." 

She  therefore  determined  that  she  would  call  on  the 
Stulls.  But  when  this  decision  was  announced  to 
Mr.  Stratford  he  gave  it  a  cold  approval.  It  was  well 
enough,  he  remarked,  to  be  courteous  to  new-comers, 
but  he  had  always  had  a  great  dislike  for  Stull  him- 
self, and  from  the  little  he  had  seen  of  his  daughter 
he  did  not  believe  that  her  companionship  was 
needed  by  Miss  Armatt.  But  Mrs.  Justin  laughed  — 
was  he  such  a  judge  of  the  nature  of  girls  that  he 
could  tell  their  capabilities. and  qualities  by  a  glance 
or  two  ? 


CHAPTER  XIX 


FEW  days  after  the  entrance  of 
Miss  Matilda  Stull  into  the  Justin 
field  of  view,  Mr.  Horace  Stratford 
was  driving  slowly  along  one  of  the 
by-roads  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cherry  Bridge.  It  was  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  and  he  was  starting  out  on 
one  of  those  mountain  drives  with  which  he  varied 
his  fishing  and  walking  experiences.  He  had  allowed 
his  horse  to  fall  into  a  small  jog-trot ;  for,  a  sensible 
man  will  not  drive  fast  over  the  ordinary  by-road  of 
mountainous  neighborhoods  when  his  mind  is  fixed 
upon  a  subject  entirely  unrelated  to  roads  and  driving. 
Mr.  Stratford's  mind  was  intently  fixed  upon  the 
subject  of  his  plans  and  purposes  regarding  the 
future  welfare  of  Miss  G-ay  Armatt.  His  desire  to 
promote  this  welfare  was  as  strong  as  ever,  and  his 
belief  in  the  justice  of  his  purposes  was  unshaken, 
but  his  hopes  of  their  success  were  not  quite  so  bright 
as  they  had  been.  He  could  not  but  admit  to  him- 
self that  while  he  had  made  upon  the  mind  of  this 
young  lady  quite  as  forcible  an  impression  of  the 
value  of  worthy  male  companionship  as  he  had  ex- 
pected to  make,  that  impression  had  not  produced 
the  result  which  he  had  hoped  from  it.  Miss  Gay, 

233 


234  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

indeed,  appeared  capable  of  entertaining,  at  the  same 
time,  a  true  and  earnest  friendship  for  one  man  and  a 
true  and  earnest  love  for  another  man.  Thus,  while 
he  had  gained  for  himself  a  most  charming  and  sym- 
pathetic friend,  Mr.  Crisman  still  retained  a  loyal 
lady-love.  Now,  while  Stratford  had  no  objection 
whatever  to  make  for  himself  a  charming  friend,  that 
was  not  the  ultimate  object  of  his  carefully  con- 
sidered conduct  towards  Gay  Armatt.  If  Mr.  Cris- 
man's  hold  upon  the  girl  were  not  loosened,  it  mat- 
tered little  to  her  future  what  hold  any  one  else  re- 
tained upon  her. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Stratford  to  himself,  "  Mrs.  Justin 
may  be  right,  and  the  girl,  having  plighted  her  word, 
will  stand  to  her  promise  through  good  or  evil." 
Now,  this  blind  constancy  was  a  quality  of  the  soul  of 
which  Stratford  did  not  approve.  Adherence  to  the 
wrong  under  any  circumstances  was,  in  his  opinion, 
unworthy  of  a  true  man  or  woman.  If,  by  any  means, 
by  comparison  with  other  men,  or  by  direct  study  of 
his  character,  Gay  should  discover  that  her  lover  was 
not  the  man  she  would  have  chosen  had  she  deferred 
her  decision  until  a  little  more  age  and  a  little  more 
experience  had  given  her  better  powers  of  judgment 
in  regard  to  what  a  husband  should  be,  then  Gay  was 
false  to  herself,  and,  in  a  manner,  to  Crisman  also,  if 
she  married  him. 

If  Mr.  Stratford  had  been  consulted  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  young  lady's  action  after  she  had  arrived 
at  this  conviction,  he  would  have  advised  a  clear 
and  frank  statement  of  her  change  of  views,  coupled 
with  a  proposition  that  the  engagement  be  set 


TEE  HUNDREDTH  NAN.  235 

aside  by  mutual  consent.  He  truly  believed  that  if 
women  were  to  do  this  when  they  found  they  had 
made  a  mistake  in  the  plighting  of  their  affections, 
not  only  would  they  avert  a  great  deal  of  future  un- 
happiness,  but  they  would  find  the  matter  much 
easier  than  they  had  supposed.  The  lover  might 
flout  and  rebel  at  first,  but  there  were  ten  chances  to 
one  that,  if  the  engagement  had  existed  for  any  con- 
siderable length  of  time,  he  would  have  discovered 
for  himself  that  the  cog-wheels  of  the  attachment  did 
not  run  smoothly  together,  and  that  he  would  be  will- 
ing to  separate  them  before  they  had  become  worn  or 
injured.  It  often  happens  that  it  is  easier  for  an 
inferior  man  to  sever  his  attachment  to  a  superior 
woman  than  it  is  for  her  to  disengage  her  affections 
from  him.  The  material  of  the  attachment  in  the 
first  instance  is  of  poorer  quality. 

But  as  Stratford  was  a  sensible  man,  as  has  before 
been  said,  he  did  not  expect  any  such  severe  moral 
action  on  the  part  of  Gay  Armatt.  He  had  hoped  no 
more  than  that  she  might  gradually  grow  away  from 
Crisman,  and  Crisman,  consequently,  dropping  away 
from  her,  the  engagement  would  come  to  an  end  with- 
out any  particular  effort  on  either  side.  But,  so  far 
as  he  could  now  see,  nothing  of  this  kind  seemed 
likely  to  happen. 

"  I  have  not  understood,"  reflected  Stratford,  "  the 
varied  powers  of  sympathetic  action  which  exist  in 
the  soul  of  this  young  girl.  I  came  to  her  as  a  friend, 
and  she  has  received  me  as  a  friend,  whereas  with 
Crisman  she  connects  no  idea  but  that  of  love. 
Consequently,  she  has  never  made  any  comparison 


236  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

between  us.  If  I  wish  to  make  an  impression 
which  shall  be  of  the  slightest  use,  I  must  get  her 
to  compare  me  with  her  lover.  At  first  I  thought  I 
was  about  to  succeed  in  this,  but  now  I  have  my 
doubts.  She  takes  him  for  what  he  is,  and  me  for 
what  I  am,  and  is  perfectly  satisfied  with  us  both." 

It  may  be  said  here  that  if  Mr.  Stratford's  ability  to 
read  the  mind  of  a  young  girl  had  been  as  great  as 
his  belief  in  the  obviousness  of  his  superiority  to 
Crisman,  he  might  not  have  come  to  this  conclusion. 
He  was  in  the  not  unusual  position  of  a  person  who 
doubts  his  ultimate  success  at  the  very  moment  he 
begins  to  succeed.  Gay  had  already  compared  her 
lover,  and  that  not  favorably,  with  her  friend. 

Mr.  Stratford  was  so  absorbed  in  his  important 
cogitations  that  his  horse  now  fell  into  a  contempla- 
tive walk,  and  the  two  proceeded  very  slowly. 

"But/'  Stratford  continued  in  his  converse  with 
himself,  "I  do  not  wish  her  to  look  upon  me  as  a 
lover.  In  the  first  place,  I  am  not  her  lover  in  the 
least  degree.  And,  again,  I  should  consider  it  dis- 
honorable and  entirely  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  my 
plan,  even  to  appear  to  be  her  lover.  I  would  like  her 
to  look  upon  me  as  a  man  who  might  be  somebody's 
lover,  and,  in  that  regard,  to  compare  me  with  Cris- 
man. I  would  like  her  to  say  to  herself,  'If  some 
one  may  have  the  love  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Stratford, 
who  will  appreciate  her  tastes  and  her  aspirations  as 
he  will  appreciate  them,  who  will  sympathize  with 
and  help  her  as  he  will  sympathize  with  and  help  her, 
and  who  will,  in  every  way,  offer  her  that  sufficient 
companionship  which  he  will  offer  her,  why  may  not 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  237 

my  lover  be  such  a  man  V  If  I  can  induce  her  to 
ask  herself  this  question,  and  then  seriously  to  con- 
sider whether  or  not  Crisman  is  that  sort  of  man,  I 
shall  be  perfectly  satisfied." 

Easier  were  the  tasks  of  tangled  skeins  and  wind- 
driven  feathers  set  by  wicked  step-mothers  to  forlorn 
princesses  in  the  olden  tales  than  was  the  task  which 
this  man  now  proposed  to  himself.  And  yet,  without 
the  slightest  hope  of  the  assistance  of  a  fairy  god- 
mother, he  steadfastly  set  .his  mind  upon  it. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  exclaimed  Stratford,  speaking 
out  in  very  decided  tones,  and  drawing  up  his  horse 
to  a  full  stop,  "  this  is  exactly  like  a  story  in  a  book ! 
Only  it  is  too  improbable." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  asked  Gay,  who  had  just 
emerged  upon  the  road  from  a  broad  pathway  through 
the  woods. 

"  I  mean,"  said  Stratford,  "  that  I  am  busily  think- 
ing of  you  when  you  suddenly  appear  in  the  most 
unexpected  manner,  and  in  the  most  unexpected 
place." 

"The  place  and  the  manner  are  simple  enough,77 
she  said.  "  Mrs.  Justin  has  gone  to  call  on  the  doc- 
tor's wife,  and  after  that  she  will  drive  over  to  the 
railroad  station  to  pick  up  Mr.  Crisman,  and  I 
thought  I  would  kill  the  time  until  they  came  back 
by  going  out  to  look  for  rhododendrons,  but  it 
must  be  rather  early  for  them,  for  I  have  found  only 
this  one  little  sprig." 

And  she  held  up  a  small  cluster  of  the  delicately 
tinted  pink  and  white  blossoms  for  which  she  had 
been  searching. 


238  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  It  is  not  too  early  for  them,"  said  Stratford,  "  but 
you  would  be  likely  to  find  only  straggling  bushes 
along  that  pathway.  It  would  be  difficult  for  you  to 
go  where  they  are  abundant.  But  why  did  not  you 
visit  the  doctor's  wife  ?  " 

He  would  have  been  glad  to  extend  the  question, 
but  saw  no  appropriate  way  of  doing  so. 

"  I  don't  care  about  going  to  see  strangers,"  said 
Gay,  "  and  as  we  called  upon  the  Stulls  two  days  ago, 
I  thought  tha.t  was  enough  ceremony  for  me  in  one 
week." 

"  If  you  will  allow  me,"  said  Stratford,  "  I  will  say 
that,  however  much  you  may  desire  to  escape  from 
social  boredom,  it  is  not  right  for  you  to  be  wauder- 
ing  by  yourself  in  these  woods." 

Gay  laughed.  "  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  to 
hurt  me  except  snakes;  and,  do  you  know,  I  have 
tried  hard  to  see  a  snake,  but  never  could.  And  now 
tell  me  how  you  came  to  be  thinking  about  me." 

"It  may  have  been,"  said  Stratford  disingenuously, 
"  that  I  had  some  premonition  of  your  appearance, 
but  I  don't  believe  it.  I  could  not  even  have  imagined 
that  you  would  be  wandering  in  these  woods  by  your- 
self, and,  really,  Miss  Armatt,  you  ought  not  to  do  it. 
But  I  am  delighted  to  see  you,  for  now  I  shall  ask  you 
to  take  a  drive  with  me.  You  will  come,  will  you  not  ? " 
and  as  he  spoke  he  stepped  down  from  the  buggy. 

Gay  looked  at  him  with  a  little  smile  upon  her  lips. 
"  May  I  drive  f "  she  said. 

Her  expression  as  she  smiled  and  spoke,  with  her 
head  a  little  on  one  side  as  she  looked  at  him,  was 
very  youthful  and  very  charming ;  for  Gay,  when  she 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  239 

slid  down  the  straw-stack,  had  not,  as  she  supposed, 
left  all  her  girlishness  behind  her.  But  Stratford  was 
not  altogether  pleased.  He  did  not  wish  to  teach  her 
to  drive ;  he  did  not  want  to  appear  in  the  character 
of  a  tutor  of  any  kind.  But  he  answered  promptly, 
"  Certainly  you  shall  do  as  you  choose  ;  drive  or  be 
driven.  All  that  I  ask  is  the  pleasure  of  your  com- 
pany." 

"  How  easily  pleased ! w  said  Gray.  And  almost 
before  he  could  touch  her  arm  to  assist  her,  she  had 
stepped  into  the  buggy. 

"  No,"  said  Stratford,  "  you  must  not  sit  there.  You 
must  sit  on  the  right  side.  If  you  drive  you  must  do 
it  properly." 

"  That  will  be  delightful,7'  said  Gay,  quickly  chang- 
ing her  seat.  "  I  do  so  like  to  do  things  in  a  regular 
way." 

It  did  not  altogether  satisfy  Stratford  that  Gay's 
pleasure  in  the  mere  act  of  driving  seemed  to  exclude 
every  other  motive  for  wishing  to  accompany  him. 
But  he  put  the  reins  into  her  hands,  adjusting  them 
with  much  care,  and  made  her  also  hold  the  whip. 

"  In  difficult  driving,"  he  said,  "  you  should  have 
the  whip  in  your  hand,  in  order  that  you  may  touch 
your  horse  if  he  hesitates.^ 

"  Is  this  to  be  difficult  driving  ? "  asked  Gay. 

"  Yes,"  he  said.  "  These  rough  country  roads  de- 
mand constant  care  and  prudence,  or  you  might  find 
yourself  in  trouble." 

"  Oh,  I  like  that ! "  said  Gay,  settling  herself  squarely 
in  her  seat,  "and  I  am  going  to  be  awfully  particular. 
Will  you  jump  in?" 


240  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  Before  I  do  so,"  said  Stratford,  "  I  must  ask  you 
to  turn  your  horse  to  the  right,  and  separate  the 
wheels  on  this  side.  As  you  are  the  driver,  that  is 
part  of  your  duty  to  your  companion.77 

Gay  laughed  as  she  turned  the  horse  rather  more 
than  was  necessary  on  one  side.  "  This  is  simply  per- 
fect !"  she  exclaimed.  u  I  feel  as  if  I  were  managing 
everything.  Are  you  quite  comfortable,  sir!"  she 
added  when  Stratford  had  taken  his  seat. 

"  Go  on/7  he  said,  laughing,  but  quickly  exclaimed, 
"Not  so  fast!  You  will  dash  us  to  pieces  against 
some  stone  or  stump." 

Gay  drew  in  the  horse,  and  then  Stratford,  in  spite 
of  his  dislike  of  appearing  on  this  occasion  in  the 
role  of  a  teacher,  proceeded  to  instruct  his  companion 
in  the  art  of  eluding  the  rocks,  ruts,  stumps,  and 
fallen  branches  with  which  this  seldom-used  road 
was  frequently  obstructed.  She  applied  herself  with 
much  earnestness  to  the  difficulties  of  her  task,  but 
Stratford,  desiring  to  put  an  end  to  this  soul-absorb- 
ing occupation,  which  did  not  suit  his  purposes,  and 
must,  eventually,  tire  his  companion,  directed  her  to 
turn  into  a  road  in  the  woods  which  would  shortly 
lead  into  the  highway. 

"You  should  have  told  me  to  beware  of  these 
branches,"  he  said,  as  he  pushed  aside  a  protruding 
bough.  "  To  be  sure,  I  saw  them  myself,  but  it  is  the 
driver's  place  to  give  warning  of  such  things." 

"  I  don't  take  much  care  of  you,  do  IP  said  Gay, 
turning  around  and  looking  up  into  his  face  with  a 
glance  of  laughing  kindliness.  "  I  ought  to  manage 
things  so  that  you  would  never  have  the  least  bit  of 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  241 

a  brush  or  a  bounce.  There  now ! "  she  cried,  as  a 
sweeping  branch  took  off  her  hat,  "  I  was  thinking  so 
much  of  you  that  I  forgot  myself.  Whoa,  sir !  " 

Stratford  jumped  out  and  picked  up  the  hat,  and 
when  he  resumed  his  seat  Gay  requested  him  to  put 
it  on  for  her,  as  her  hands  were  so  full. 

"  And  I  am  going  to  ask  you,"  she  said,  as  Stratford 
placed  the  hat  on  her  head,  and  adjusted,  not  very 
awkwardly,  an  elastic  band  beneath  the  thick  coil  of 
hair,  "  if  you  will  not  hold  this  whip  until  we  get  out 
of  the  woods.  It  is  really  too  much  for  me  to  have  to 
attend  to  the  reins,  the  whip,  the  stumps,  the  bushes, 
and  you." 

When  they  turned  into  the  broad,  open  road,  Gay 
had  the  pleasure  of  a  mile  or  two  of  good  rapid  driv- 
ing. During  this  period  of  delight  they  met  an  open 
carriage,  drawn  by  two  horses,  driven  by  a  coach- 
man, and  containing  a  lady.  Gay  was  so  much 
occupied  in  keeping  her  horse  exactly  midway  be- 
tween the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  and  the  left- 
hand  wheels  of  the  other  vehicle  that  she  could  do  no 
more  than  give  a  little  nod  as  she  swiftly  passed  the 
carriage. 

Stratford  took  off  his  hat,  and  then  remarked  to 
Gay  that  it  was  a  pity  Miss  Stull  had  to  drive  about 
the  country  by  herself. 

"  Yes,"  said  Gay.  "  Her  mother  does  not  care  to  be 
out-of-doors,  and  she  does  not  like  to  have  her 
younger  sisters  with  her.  She  said  she  would  come  to 
take  me  to  drive,  and  perhaps  she  is  now  on  her  way 
to  our  house." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  turn  back?"  said  Stratford. 
21 


242  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  No,  indeed,"  she  answered.  "  That  was  the  merest 
supposition  of  mine.  And  besides,  even  if  she  does 
want  me,  why  should  I  slight  your  invitation  for  one 
from  her?"  And  she  gave  the  horse  a  little  touch  of 
the  whip,  of  which  she  had  again  taken  possession. 

Gay's  prompt  decision  was  a  very  gratifying  one, 
but  Stratford  could  not  help  asking  himself  if  her 
preference  for  his  company  was  not  due,  in  some 
degree,  to  the  fact  that  she  was  driving. 

Presently  he  made  a  proposition.  "  How  should 
you  like,"  said  he,  "  for  me  to  take  you  on  a  mount- 
ain drive  ?  It  will  be  a  novel  experience  for  you." 

"  I  shall  like  it  ever  so  much,"  said  Gay,  "  and  if  you 
want  my  seat  I  am  quite  ready  to  give  it  up,  for  this 
tight-rein  driving  has  begun  to  tire  my  wrists." 

"  In  the  work  we  have  before  us,"  said  Stratford, 
"  I  shall  certainly  want  the  driver's  seat." 

They  now  stopped  at  a  gate  by  the  side  of  the  road, 
and,  Stratford  having  opened  it,  Gay  drove  through, 
and  then  he  took  the  reins.  They  passed  at  a  good 
trot  along  a  cart  road  which  wound  through  a  field  of 
young  corn,  and,  leaving  this  by  another  gate,  they 
emerged  upon  a  wide  stretch  of  grassy  hillside,  inter- 
spersed with  bushes,  rocks,  and  trees.  They  skirted 
the  base  of  the  hill,  following  a  track  that  gave  some 
indications  of  being  a  road,  and  which,  by  a  series  of 
gentle  ascents,  brought  them  to  a  forest  on  the  side  of 
a  line  of  low  mountains.  Here  Stratford  turned  into 
a  wood-road  which  for  some  time  led  them  steadily 
upward.  At  a  point  with  which  he  seemed  very  well 
acquainted  he  turned  boldly  into  the  woods,  and 
wound  in  and  out  among  the  trees,  which  here,  being 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  243 

principally  pines,  were  little  encumbered  with  under- 
brush, until  he  emerged  upon  the  open  mountain- 
side, where  could  be  seen  no  track  of  wheel  or  hoof. 

"You  did  that  splendidly,"  said  Gay.  "I  can't 
imagine  how  you  dared  to  drive  right  in  among  the 
trees." 

"  I  have  been  through  that  way  before,  and  knew  I 
could  find  a  free  passage.  And  now,  my  lady,  I  want  to 
warn  you  that  we  are  going  to  leave  everything  which 
resembles  civilized  driving.  Do  you  think  you  shall 
be  frightened  ? " 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  not  take  me  into  any  danger- 
ous places,"  she  said. 

"  There  will  be  no  danger  whatever/7  he  answered. 
"  I  shall  go  nowhere  where  I  have  not  driven  before ; 
and  although  we  shall  pass  over  a  great  deal  of 
shelving  ground,  I  assure  you  that  we  shall  not  upset." 

"If  you  say  it  is  safe,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied," 
said  Gay.  "  Please  go  on." 

Stratford  now  proceeded  at  a  steady  walk  along 
a  slight  terrace  upon  the  mountain-side  which 
afforded  a  very  good  roadway.  To  the  left  the  vast 
forest  stretched  upward,  while  to  the  right  lay  a  long 
green  valley  closed  on  three  sides,  and  utterly  wild 
and  uninhabited.  Very  soon  they  rounded  a  turn  in 
the  mountain-side,  and  here  the  terrace  disappeared. 
The  surface  of  the  ground,  however,  was  diversified 
by  rounded  knobs  and  horizontal  shelves  of  project- 
ing rock,  and  the  general  incline,  even  in  the  smoother 
places,  was  not  great. 

Around  and  over  the  inequalities  of  the  ground 
Stratford  steadily  made  his  way,  taking  advantage  of 


244  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

every  favoring  surface ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  careful- 
ness, the  buggy  sometimes  tipped  very  much  to  one 
side. 

"  You  are  sure  we  can't  upset  ?  "  asked  (lay. 

"  Quite  sure/7  Stratford  replied.  "  It  would  be 
extremely  difficult  to  overturn  a  low-hanging  vehicle 
like  this,  and  everything  about  the  buggy  and  harness 
is  strong  and  intended  for  rough  work.7' 

"  It  is  delightfully  exciting/'  said  Gay,  "  and  I  don't 
intend  to  be  afraid.  The  view  is  getting  better  all 
the  time." 

"  When  we  round  that  next  point,  just  beyond  us," 
said  Stratford,  "  we  shall  have  the  view  I  brought 
you  here  to  see.  It  is  different  from  anything  else  in 
the  neighborhood." 

Having  reached  the  point  indicated,  Stratford 
stopped,  and  they  looked  out  on  a  scene  of  solemn 
grandeur.  Below  them  was  a  deep  and  vast  ravine, 
through  which  a  dark  river  of  tree-tops  seemed  to 
run  into  the  valley  they  had  first  seen.  Beyond  this 
ravine  rose  a  heavily  wooded  mountain,  and  to  the 
right  of  that,  and  back  of  it,  stood  other  mountain 
peaks,  purpled  by  the  distance.  Still  farther,  tower- 
ing high  on  the  left,  its  eastern  side  now  dark  in 
shadow,  stood  the  loftiest  mountain  of  them  all, 
looking  down  upon  its  lower  brethren  with  a  certain 
stern  solemnity,  while  between  it  and  the  nearest 
peak  Gay  could  see,  far,  far  away,  a  line  of  light-blue 
mountain  waves  against  the  sky.  For  a  few  moments 
she  sat  without  a  word,  and  then  she  exclaimed : 

"  What  magnificence !  I  never  knew  we  had  such 
mountains  near  us !  " 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  245 

"  They  are  the  same  mountains  we  always  have  in 
view,"  said  Stratford,  "  only  we  are  on  a  point  where 
we  can  see  between  their  broken  lines,  and  not  merely 
look  up  against  them  as  we  generally  do.77 

The  spot  where  they  had  stopped  was  the  most 
available  one  in  the  vicinity  for  a  mountain  view, 
but  the  ground  was  very  sloping,  and  even  if  they 
had  had  plenty  of  time  before  them,  Stratford  would 
not  have  taxed  the  patience  of  his  horse  by  requiring 
him  to  keep  a  stationary  position  there  very  long. 
After  devoting  some  minutes  to  Cray's  intense  enjoy- 
ment of  the  scene,  he  told  her  they  must  now  turn 
round  and  go  back;  and  as  this  turning  round  on 
the  mountain-side  might  excite  nervousness  in  the 
mind  of  a  lady,  he  proposed  to  Gray  that  she  should 
get  out  of  the  buggy  while  he  performed  this  feat. 

"  Are  you  going  to  stay  in  f  n  she  asked. 

"  Of  course/'  he  answered. 

"  Then  so  am  I,"  said  Gay. 

Stratford  made  no  further  remark,  but,  driving 
upon  a  projecting  knoll,  he  backed  the  buggy  up  on 
a  shelf  of  rock  behind  it,  and,  turning  the  horse,  drove 
down  again  to  the  spot  where  they  had  been  stand- 
ing. He  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  his  horse  was 
perfectly  trustworthy  j  but  the  knoll  was  very  small, 
and  the  downward  view  from  the  outer  border  of  it 
was  likely  to  give  one  a  good  idea  of  the  precipitous. 

Stratford  drove  a  short  distance  along  the  mount- 
ain-side, and  then  he  drew  up  his  horse.  "Now," 
said  he,  "  I  am  going  to  give  you  your  choice.  We 
can  either  go  back  the  way  we  came,  which  you 
know  is  a  long  road,  or  I  can  drive  down  the  mount- 


246  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ain-side,  which  is  not  very  steep  just  here,  and  when 
we  reach  the  valley  we  shall  find  a  wood-road  which 
will  lead  us  to  that  low  hill,  over  there.  Having 
crossed  that,  we  shall  soon  find  ourselves  upon  one 
of  Mrs.  Justin's  farm-roads,  which  will  take  us  directly 
to  the  house." 

"  Oh,  let  us  go  that  way,  by  all  means ! v  said  Gay. 
"  It  must  be  ever  so  much  nearer,  and,  after  what  we 
have  done,  I  am  ready  for  anything." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Stratford ;  and  he  began  the 
descent  of  the  trackless  mountain-side.  He  did  not 
go  directly  down,  but  wound  along  in  a  serpentine 
way  among  the  rocks,  low-growing  bushes,  and  over 
occasional  stretches  of  coarse  grass,  which  would  some- 
times have  proved  difficult  of  passage  had  not  the  yield- 
ing mold  given  a  sure  foothold  to  the  horse.  Gay  was 
very  merry  over  the  varied  contingencies  of  this  novel 
drive,  although  she  could  not  refrain  from  some  starts 
and  exclamations  when  they  found  themselves  going 
straight  down  some  short,  steep  incline  with  the  horse 
so  far  beneath  the  buggy  that  there  seemed  to  be 
danger  that  the  vehicle  with  its  occupants  would 
double  over  upon  the  steed.  Once  when  the  horse, 
thoroughly  well  trained  in  the  business  of  holding 
back,  actually  sat  down  on  his  haunches,  Gay  gave  a 
little  cry  and  seized  Stratford  by  the  arm. 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  instantly  relinquishing  her 
hold,  "I  must  not  do  that  or  I  shall  hinder  your 
driving." 

Stratford  was  not  afraid  of  any  interference  with 
his  driving,  but  he  was  a  conscientious  man,  and 
essayed  no  unnecessary  slopes  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  an  intuitive  reliance. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  247 

When  they  reached  the  valley,  and  had  struck  the 
wood-road,  now  almost  overgrown,  which  led  through 
a  narrow  stretch  of  forest,  Gay  gave  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  I  can't  deny,"  she  said,  "  that  it  is  a  comfort  to 
feel  that  the  buggy- wheels  and  the  horse's  feet  are  on 
a  level  with  each  other.  But  I  would  not  for  any- 
thing- have  missed  that  mountain  drive  !  It  had  more 
of  delightful  adventure  about  it  than  anything  that 
ever  happened  to  me.  But  I  would  not  have  allowed 
any  other  man  in  the  world  to  drive  me  where  you 
drove  me." 

"  And  let  me  say  to  you,"  said  Stratford,  turning 
towards  her,  "  that  I  know  no  other  woman  than 
yourself  whom  I  could  have  trusted  to  be  brave 
enough  to  trust  me  absolutely  and  entirely." 

"  I  like  to  hear  you  say  that,"  said  Gay,  with  an 
expression  that  could  not  be  mistaken  for  anything 
else  than  honest  earnestness. 

So  far,  although  these  two  had  spent  a  good  part 
of  the  afternoon  together,  they  had  had  but  little 
conversation  except  that  which  had  been  called  forth 
by  the  unusual  character  of  the  surrounding  circum- 
stances, and  this  condition  of  things  Stratford  thought 
had  lasted  quite  long  enough.  He  certainly  did  not 
regret  the  circumstances,  because  they  had  pleased 
Gay,  and  had  brought  out  in  a  strong  light  some 
interesting  points  in  her  disposition.  But  now  he 
was  glad  that  the  rest  of  their  trip  would  be  un- 
eventful. 

"You  are  pleased,  then,"  Stratford  said,  "that  I 
think  well  of  you  I n 

"  Indeed  I  am  ! "  exclaimed  Gay.  "  I  am  a  great 
deal  more  than  pleased.  Do  you  know,"  she  continued, 


248  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"that  it  seems  very  strange,  in  fact  it  is  absolutely 
funny,  when  I  think  in  what  a  different  way  I  regard 
you  now  from  that  in  which  I  looked  upon  you  when 
I  first  knew  you.  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that  I 
liked  you  ever  so  much  from  the  first  day.  Then  I 
used  to  wish  that  you  were  my  father,  and  to  think 
that  it  would  be  perfectly  charming  to  have  such  a 
father,  entirely  forgetting  that  you  did  not  begin  to 
be  old  enough  to  be  a  father  to  me.  After  that  I 
wished  you  were  my  brother.  But  that  did  not  last 
very  long ;  for,  if  you  analyze  the  relationship  of  a 
brother,  which  I  have  done,  having  a  very  good 
brother  who  is  a  professor  in  a  college  out  West,  you 
will  find  that  he  is  wanting  in  some  of  the  varied 
qualities  of  companionship ;  at  least,  that  is  what  I 
discover  in  my  one  specimen.  Now,  in  you  I  find  no 
want  of  the  kind." 

"  Am  I  to  understand/'  said  Stratford,  "  that  you 
have  analyzed  my  character  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  have,"  she  replied.  "  In  fact,  I  have 
done  so  two  or  three  times." 

"And  what  is  the  result?"  he  asked.  "And  in 
what  light  do  you  now  regard  me  ? " 

"  The  result  is,"  said  Gay,  "  that  it  is  impossible  to 
place  you  in  any  class.  I  tried  it  and  utterly  failed. 
So  I  am  going  to  let  you  stand  all  alone,  by  yourself." 

"Whatever  of  approbation  there  was  in  Gay's  words 
or  manner,  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  she  had 
ever  thought  of  putting  him  into  that  class  of  men 
who,  not  being  fathers  or  brothers,  might,  upon 
occasion,  make  love. 

"  Do  you  analyze  everybody  ? "  he  asked. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN,  249 

"  Oh,  no  indeed  !  "  said  Gay  promptly.  "  Only  a 
very  few  persons.  You  more  than  anybody  else." 

"  Am  I,  then,  so  very  difficult  to  understand  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  think  you  would  have  been,"  said  Gray, 
"  if  I  had  known  you  a  long  time,  and  had,  in  a  man- 
ner, grown  up  with  you  j  but,  you  see,  you  came  upon 
me  so  suddenly  and  swiftly,  and  I  have  known  you 
so  fast,  if  you  understand  that,  that  I  had  to  look 
very  closely  into  the  matter  in  order  to  comprehend 
it  all." 

"  And  do  you  comprehend  it  ? n  he  asked. 

"  I  think  so/'  said  Gay. 

"  And  are  you  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Perfectly,"  she  answered. 

Stratford  was  not  perfectly  satisfied.  "  I  wish," 
said  he,  "that  I  could  have  been  put  among  those 
persons  who  do  not  need  to  be  analyzed." 

Gay  turned  upon  him  suddenly.  There  was  a  little 
frown  upon  her  brow,  but  when  she  spoke  she  could 
not  help  smiling.  "  You  are  dreadfully  grasping," 
she  said.  "  Here  I  have  been  putting  you  up  higher 
and  higher,  on  a  loftier  pedestal  every  time,  and  yet 
you  are  not  satisfied." 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  Stratford,  "  but  if  you  had  ever 
analyzed  yourself  you  would  not  be  surprised  that  I 
am  hard  to  satisfy." 

"Now  I  wonder  what  that  means!"  said  Gay. 
"  Are  you  going  on  developing  and  changing,  so  that 
I  shall  have  to  analyze  you  again  ? " 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  do  it,"  he  answered  quickly, 
"  if  there  is  any  danger  of  my  being  placed  on  a  lower 
pedestal,  or  perhaps  being  toppled  over  altogether." 


250  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  Don't  you  be  afraid  of  that,"  said  Gay,  in  voluntarily 
laying  her  hand  upon  his  arm.  "  And  HI  tell  you  one 
way  in  which  I  think  of  you.  I  have  a  feeling  that  if 
you  were  to  ask  rne  to  do  anything,  I  should  instantly 
go  and  do  it.  What  do  you  think  of  that,  sir  ?  n 

A  thought  had  come  with  much  promptness  to 
Stratford,  and  he  had  said  to  himself  that  if  he  could 
thoroughly  believe  what  Gay  had  said,  he  would 
impress  the  seal  of  happiness  and  success  upon  her 
life  by  instantly  demanding  that  she  should  give  up 
the  man  who  would  be  to  her  like  a  worm  at  the  root 
of  all  to  which  her  ardent  young  soul  looked  forward. 
But  he  did  not  believe  her,  at  least  to  such  an  extent, 
and  he  kept  this  thought  to  himself. 

"  You  do  me  the  greatest  honor,"  he  said,  "  by  plac- 
ing such  trust  in  me  ;  and  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  to 
do  something  which  would  make  you  happy  for  the 
rest  of  your  days." 

Gay  turned  and  looked  at  him  with  an  expression 
of  inquiry  which  seemed  somewhat  foreign  to  her 
face,  for  her  desires  to  know  were  generally  promptly 
expressed  in  words.  But  now  she  said  nothing,  and, 
turning  again  from  Stratford,  sat  quietly  looking  out 
before  her. 

They  had  now  crossed  the  valley  and  had  reached 
the  top  of  the  rounded  hill  upon  the  other  side.  The 
day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  in  this  exposed  posi- 
tion the  evening  wind  came  fresh  and  cool  upon 
them.  Gay's  dress  was  thin,  and  Stratford,  without 
remark  upon  the  subject,  stooped  forward  and  drew 
from  under  the  seat  a  light  woolen  lap-robe  which  had 
hitherto  been  unneeded.  This  he  placed  around  Gay's 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  251 

shoulders,  carefully  arranging  it  so  as  to  protect  her 
well  from  the  somewhat  chilly  mountain  breeze. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Gay.  And  then  she  went  on 
with  her  thinking. 

Among  the  many  things  which  came  into  the  mind 
of  Stratford  on  their  homeward  road  was  the  convic- 
tion that  this  mountain  drive  had  occupied  more 
time  than  he  had  expected  it  would,  and  that  Cris- 
man  must  have  arrived  at  least  an  hour  ago  at  Mrs. 
Justin's  house.  He  wondered  if  Gay  was  thinking 
about  this,  but,  if  so,  she  certainly  manifested  no 
anxiety  upon  the  subject.  Comfortably  wrapped  up, 
with  her  hands  folded  under  her  improvised  shawl, 
she  nestled  quietly  in  her  corner  of  the  buggy  as  if  she 
were  perfectly  satisfied  with  everything  that  was. 


CHAPTER  XX 


ISS  Matilda  Stull,  who  really  was  on 
her  way  to  invite  Miss  Gay  Armatt 
to  drive  with  her,  was  very  much 
surprised  when  that  young  lady,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Stratford,  rapidly 
passed  her  on  the  road.  She  turned 
quickly,  and  looked  back  at  them,  saying  to  herself : 
"  Is  it  possible  that  I  have  been  mistaken,  and  that 
that  is  the  man  she  is  engaged  to  ?  I  don't  under- 
stand it,  for  they  certainly  told  me  that  the  one  I  saw 
in  the  carriage  with  Mrs.  Justin  is  named  Crisman, 
and  that  he  comes  up  every  Saturday,  on  account  of 
the  engagement.  But  that  doesn't  look  like  it,  I  must 
say !  And  this  is  Saturday  afternoon  too  ! " 

In  all  matters  which  pertained  to  love,  engage- 
ments, or  marriage,  Miss  Matilda  took  a  deep  and 
abiding  interest,  and  in  this  affair,  so  immediately 
within  her  observation,  her  interest  was  greater  than 
usual.  The  apparent  complications  of  it  which  had 
suddenly  arisen  in  her  extremely  active  mind,  which 
needed  but  very  slight  impulses  to  set  it  working  in 
matters  of  this  sort,  puzzled  her  exceedingly.  She 
could  not  bring  herself  to  give  up  her  visit  to  Mrs. 
Justin's  house,  where  she  might  hope  to  lay  hold  of 
some  clew  to  this  mystery.  It  was  plain  that  Gay 

252 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  253 

could  not  drive  with  her,  but  she  saw  no  reason  why 
she  should  not  return  Mrs.  Justin's  call,  although  her 
mother  was  not  with  her.  That  lady  was  as  likely  to 
be  indisposed  one  day  as  another,  and  she  could  not 
afford  to  let  the  acquaintanceship  she  desired  depend 
upon  Mrs.  StulFs  dispositions  or  indispositions.  If 
that  Mr.  Crisman  were  coming  to-day,  she  knew  the 
hour  when  he  should  arrive,  and  determined  to  plan 
her  own  drive  so  as  to  reach  the  house  when  he 
should  be  there.  Mr.  Stratford  and  Gay  Armatt 
would  be  back  by  that  time,  and  when  she  saw  them 
all  together  she  could  judge  for  herself  how  matters 
stood. 

Miss  Stull  drove  about  the  country  for  some  time, 
and,  when  the  proper  hour  arrived,  she  directed  her 
coachman  to  turn  the  horses  towards  the  Justin  house. 
There  she  found  the  lady  of  the  mansion  and  Mr. 
Crisman,  seated  upon  the  broad  piazza.  Mrs.  Justin 
received  the  young  lady  very  cordially,  and  was  on 
the  point  of  stating  that  Gay  had  gone  for  a  walk, 
but  would  certainly  be  back  in  a  very  short  time, 
when  Miss  Matilda  remarked  that  she  had  supposed  she 
might  not  see  Miss  Armatt  as  she  had  met  her  driving 
with  Mr.  Stratford,  but  that  she  had  come  all  the 
same,  because  this  was  a  call  not  only  from  herself 
but  from  her  mother,  who  was  extremely  grieved  that 
she  was  not  able  to  make  it  in  person. 

At  the  intelligence  thus  conveyed  by  Miss  Matilda 
the  soul  of  Mrs.  Justin  was  smitten  by  a  sudden 
chill,  and  the  face  of  Mr.  Crisman  grew  stern  and 
dark.  This  gentleman  had  been  annoyed  when  he 
reached  the  house  and  found  that  Gay  was  not  there 
22 


254  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  meet  him,  and  had  been  talking  to  Mrs.  Justin 
about  the  propriety  of  that  young  lady  keeping  her 
watch  properly  set  and  regulated,  and  carrying  it 
with  her  when  she  went  out  for  a  walk,  so  that  she 
would  know  when  she  ought  to  return  to  the  house. 
But  now,  when  he  learned  that  she  had  not  gone  for 
a  walk  at  all,  but  was  out  driving  with  Stratford,  his 
mind  was  a  good  deal  darker  than  his  face.  He  said 
nothing,  but  his  eyes  flashed  angrily  on  Mrs.  Justin. 
That  lady  glanced  at  him,  caught  the  flash,  and 
knew  instantly  that  he  believed  she  had  told  him  a 
falsehood. 

"  I  did  not  know/7  she  said,  addressing  Miss  Stull, 
"  that  Miss  Armatt  had  gone  driving.  Mr.  Stratford 
must  have  called  for  her  while  I  was  away,  and  they 
will  doubtless  return  presently.  And,  before  I  for- 
get it,  Miss  Stull,  did  your  mother  engage  that  wash- 
erwoman I  recommended  to  her?  If  she  does  not 
suit,  there  is  another  one  who  might  answer,  but  she 
lives  at  a  greater  distance." 

During  the  discussion  upon  washerwomen  which 
followed,  Mr.  Crisman  arose,  went  into  the  house, 
and  began  to  stalk  up  and  down  the  parlor.  A  good 
deal  of  conversation,  mostly  on  domestic  subjects, 
now  took  place  between  Mrs.  Justin  and  her  visitor, 
and,  to  the  great  regret  of  both,  it  was  not  interrupted 
by  the  arrival  of  Gay  and  Mr.  Stratford. 

Miss  Matilda  staid  just  as  long  as  it  was  possible 
to  extend  her  visit ;  and  this  extension  was  encour- 
aged by  her  hostess,  who  did  not  at  all  wish  to  be 
left  alone  with  Crisman.  Gay  had  done  a  very  fool- 
ish and  wrong  thing  in  going  away  on  this  Saturday 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  255 

afternoon  with  Mr.  Stratford,  and  it  was  she  who 
should  make  the  explanations  and  bear  the  reproaches. 
At  last  Miss  Stull  felt  bound  to  admit  to  herself  that 
the  evening  was  coming  on  rapidly,  and  that  she 
could  not  with  propriety  stay  any  longer,  and  so  de- 
parted, disappointed.  She  had  seen  very  little  of 
Mr.  Crisman,  she  had  not  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  Stratford,  and  she  had  learned  nothing  definite 
in  regard  to  the  engagement.  She  had  seen  enough, 
however,  to  make  her  believe  that  everything  was  not 
right,  and  that  that  young  man  who  was  walking  so 
heavily  about  the  parlor  was  very  angry.  This  con- 
vinced her  that  he  was  really  the  engaged  man,  but 
she  was  sorry,  very  sorry  indeed,  that  the  couple  in 
the  buggy  had  not  arrived  before  she  left. 

The  heavens  were  kind  to  Mrs.  Justin.  She  had 
not  returned  to  the  house  after  seeing  Miss  Stull  to 
her  carriage  —  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  she  did 
not  hasten  that  return  —  when  Stratford  and  Gay 
drove  up  over  the  grass,  coming  from  the  back  of  the 
house. 

The  horse  had  no  sooner  stopped  than  G-ay  inquired 
of  Mrs.  Justin  if  Mr.  Crisman  had  arrived,  and  on 
being  told  that  that  gentleman  had  been  there  some 
time  and  was  now  in  the  parlor,  she  bade  Mr.  Strat- 
ford a  hasty  farewell,  skipped  out  of  the  buggy,  and 
hurried  into  the  house.  As  she  hastened  past  Mrs. 
Justin,  that  lady  felt  assured  that  although  Gay  might 
be  very  anxious  to  meet  her  lover,  her  conscience  as 
well  as  her  affection  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the 
exceeding  alacrity  with  which  she  went  into  the  house. 

"I  had  no  idea,"   said  Mrs.  Justin  to   Stratford, 


256  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  that  you  and  Gray  were  going  off  to  drive  this  after- 
noon." 

"Nor  had  I," he  answered.  "I  picked  her  up  on  the 
road.  We  have  had  a  most  delightful  drive.'7 

"It  may  prove  anything  but  delightful  to  Gay/7 
said  Mrs.  Justin. 

Stratford  smiled.  "  I  am  very  sorry/'  he  said,  "that 
upon  this  subject  you  and  I  should  so  frequently  dif- 
fer, both  in  our  desires  and  our  expectations." 

"And  I  am  also  very,  very  sorry,"  said  the  lady. 

And  then  Mr.  Stratford  drove  away  at  dinner  time 
without  being  invited  to  stay  to  dinner.  This  unu- 
sual omission  was  not  due  to  want  of  hospitality  or 
to  resentment  on  Mrs.  Justin's  part.  That  lady  did 
not  desire  an  awkward  situation  at  her  evening  meal, 
and  Stratford  understood  her  feelings  perfectly. 

That  dinner  was  indeed  an  awkward  meal,  but  not 
as  Mrs.  Justin  had  expected  it  to  be.  She  had  looked 
forward  to  sitting  at  table  with  a  black-browed  and 
scowling  lover  upon  whom  the  sweetness  and  kind 
attention  of  two  ladies  would  make  but  very  faint 
impression.  Instead  of  that,  only  she  and  Gay  had 
dinner  together ;  that  is  to  say,  they  sat  at  the  table 
together,  but  neither  of  them  ate  much. 

When  Mr.  Stratford  had  driven  away,  and  Mrs. 
Justin  had  gone  into  the  house  after  a  stroll  among 
the  shadows  on  the  lawn  sufficiently  prolonged  to 
give  Mr.  Crisman  time  to  get  over  the  brunt  of  his 
indignation,  she  met  Gay  on  the  piazza,  and  immedi- 
ately asked  where  Mr.  Crisman  was. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Gay,  her  voice  a  little  shaken 
either  by  emotion  or  shortness  of  breath.  "  I  haven't 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  257 

seen  him  at  all.  Jane  says  he  went  out  of  the  house 
and  down  the  steps  of  the  back  piazza  just  as  Mr. 
Stratford  and  I  drove  round  to  the  front,  and  that 
she  thought  he  went  into  the  garden.  I  ran  out  there, 
and  have  been  looking  for  him  everywhere.  What 
do  you  suppose  has  become  of  him?  Can  it  be  that 
he  is  angry  with  me,  and  has  gone  away  ?  n 

Mrs.  Justin  turned  pale,  and  her  paleness  was 
reflected  in  the  face  of  Gay.  "  Come  into  the  library," 
said  the  elder  lady.  And  they  went  into  the  darken- 
ing room  and  sat  down  together  on  a  lounge. 

Now  Mrs.  Justin  spoke  to  her  young  friend  more 
plainly  than  she  had  ever  spoken  before.  She  opened 
her  anxious  heart  to  her,  and  with  earnest  affection 
explained  to  the  young  girl  the  danger  she  was  in. 
Gay  listened  with  a  tear  or  two  but  with  no  words. 

When  Mrs.  Justin  had  finished,  Gay  asked  :  "  Do 
you  think  he  will  come  back  to-night  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it/'  said  the  other.  "He  has 
probably  gone  for  a  long  walk,  which  will  cool  off  his 
anger;  and  when  he  comes  back,  my  dear,  it  will  be 
your  duty  to  see  that  he  has  occasion  to  take  no  more 
such  walks." 

Then  the  two  went  out  to  dinner. 

About  half -past  nine  that  evening  a  boy  belonging  to 
the  tavern  at  Cherry  Bridge  came  to  the  Justin  house 
bringing  two  letters.  One  was  for  Miss  Armatt,  and 
one  was  for  Mrs.  Justin,  and  they  were  both  written 
by  Mr.  Crisman,  who,  the  boy  said,  had  taken  supper 
at  the  tavern  and  would  stay  there  that  night. 

Gay,  who  had  been  reading  and  waiting  and  listen- 
ing all  the  evening,  took  her  letter  in  her  hand  but 


258  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

did  not  open  it.  The  pallor  on  her  face  when  instead 
of  her  lover  there  came  thisjnissive  was  not  at  all  of 
the  reflected  sort. 

"  I  think  I  will  go  up  into  my  room  and  read  it,'7 
she  said.  And  taking  a  lamp,  she  went  upstairs. 

Mrs.  Justin  sent  word  to  the  boy  that  he  need  not 
wait  for  answers,  and  then  she  sat  and  looked  at  her 
letter  a  long  time  before  she  opened  it.  She  was  so 
much  averse  to  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Crisman 
that  once  she  made  up  her  mind  to  tear  up  his  letter 
and  refuse  to  take  part  in  a  very  unpleasant  quarrel 
which  she  had  earnestly  endeavored  to  avert.  But 
she  knew  that  this  would  not  be  just,  and  she  could 
not  but  believe  that  if  she  read  Mr.  Crisman's  letter 
and  treated  him  with  courtesy,  she  might  thereby  be 
of  great  service  to  Gay. 

Having  come  to  this  determination,  she  tore  open 
the  letter  and  read  it.  At  the  opening  words  her  face 
began  to  redden,  and  as  she  went  on  the  crimson  glow 
increased.  When  she  finished,  the  color  died  out  of 
her  face,  and  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  looked 
out  between  the  parted  curtains  of  the  window  into 
the  dark  night  with  an  expression  of  somber  sternness 
which  was  very  unusual  upon  Mrs.  Justin's  lovely 
countenance.  For  a  long,  long  time  she  sat  thus; 
and  it  was  after  twelve  o'clock  when  Gay  came  quietly 
into  the  room. 

Mrs.  Justin  started  with  surprise.  "  Why,  Gay,?? 
she  exclaimed,  "I  did  not  expect  you  downstairs 
again  !" 

Gay  made  no  answer,  but  advanced  to  the  table 
with  two  letters  in  her  hand,  one  open,  and  the  other 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  259 

folded  and  addressed.  Her  hair  was  somewhat  rum- 
pled, as  if  her  fingers  had  been  in  it ;  but  her  dress 
was  unchanged,  and  she  evidently  had  had  no  thought 
of  retiring. 

"  Here  is  a  letter,"  said  Gay,  laying  the  one  which 
was  folded  and  addressed  upon  the  table,  "  which  I 
should  like  to  have  sent  to  Mr.  Crisman  as  early  as 
possible  in  the  morning.  I  have  ended  our  engage- 
ment.'7 

Mrs.  Justin  rose  to  her  feet,  her  amazed  eyes  fixed 
on  Gay. 

"  My  letter  is  not  sealed,"  said  Gay,  "  and  you  can 
read  it  if  you  like.  But  I  think  it  would  be  better  if 
you  read  his  letter  first." 

Mrs.  Justin  put  out  her  hand  for  the  letter  which 
Crisman  had  written,  and  took  it  as  though  it  were 
something  hot  which  she  feared  to  touch.  She  looked 
at  Gay,  and  then  she  looked  at  the  letter.  Then  she 
read  a  line  or  two,  and  put  it  down. 

"  I  cannot,  Gay,"  she  said ;  "  I  cannot  read  it." 

It  was  Gay  who  had  been  hard-stricken,  but  her 
nature  was  young  and  strong.  She  bore  her  blow 
better  than  Mrs.  Justin  bore  the  one  she  had  received. 

"  You  need  not  read  it,"  she  said.  "  It  would  only 
pain  you.  I  can  tell  you  in  a  few  words  what  is  in  it. 
He  upbraids  me  cruelly  for  what  he  calls  my  faith- 
lessness, and,  after  saying  a  great  deal  for  which  there 
is  no  cause  whatever,  he  orders  me  to  write  him  a 
letter  asking  his  forgiveness  for  what  I  have  done, 
and  promising  never  to  do  again  the  things  with 
which  he  has  charged  me.  If  I  do  not  write  such  a 
letter  and  send  it  to  him  immediately,  he  declares 


260  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

that  everything  shall  be  at  an  end  between  us.  In 
my  answer  I  told  him  that  his  charges  had  110  founda- 
tion at  all,  and  that  I  would  never  write  the  letter  he 
demanded.  Did  I  do  right?" 

Mrs.  Justin's  face  was  flushed,  not  only  by  the 
words  which  Gay  had  spoken  to  her,  but  by  a  hot 
recollection  of  the  letter  which  she  herself  had  re- 
ceived, in  which  Mr.  Crisman  had  indignantly  charged 
her  with  treachery  and  falsehood,  with  having  en- 
couraged and  assisted  the  attentions  of  Mr.  Stratford 
during  the  absence  of  Gay's  rightful  lover,  and  with 
having  made  him  believe  that  Gay  was  out  walking 
by  herself  when  of  course  she  knew  that  she  was 
driving  with  that  other  man. 

Never  was  there  a  woman  who  attached  more  sol- 
emn importance  to  an  engagement  or  promise  than 
did  Mrs.  Justin.  Never  was  there  a  woman  who 
looked  with  more  horror  upon  the  breaking  of  a 
compact  upon  which  two  loving  hearts  had  entered, 
and  yet  she  stretched  out  her  arms  to  Gay,  and,  press- 
ing the  girl  to  her  bosom,  she  said :  "  You  did  right, 
exactly  right ! n 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HEN  Mr.  Crisman,  before  breakfast 
the  next  morning,  received  Miss 
Armatt's  letter,  its  effect  upon  him 
was  to  renew  the  anger  which  a 
night's  sleep  had  somewhat  sobered 
down.  When  he  had  written  to  her 
he  had  formed  no  conjectures  in 
regard  to  her  reception  of  his  letter.  He  meant  all 
that  he  had  written,  and  his  only  desire  and  intent 
was  that  Gay  should  thoroughly  understand  what  he 
meant.  He  had  not  cared  to  anticipate  what  she 
would  do  when  she  read  it ;  but  when  he  found  what 
she  had  done,  a  most  stubborn  indignation  took  pos- 
session of  him.  His  nature  was  one  which  hardened 
quickly  beneath  the  sun  of  angry  passion,  and  when 
this  happened,  neither  rain,  nor  kindly  warmth,  nor 
the  dews  of  night,  nor  any  blessed  breeze,  could  pene- 
trate its  crust. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  as  he  tore  up  Gay's  letter, 
"  she  loses  more  than  I  do."  And  then  he  went  to 
breakfast. 

The  only  resolve  which  Mr.  Crisman  now  made  was 
to  the  effect  that  every  one  should  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  his  engagement  with  the  Armatt  girl  was 
broken  off,  and  that  he  was  not  in  the  least  crushed 

261 


262  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

by  the  event.  He  had  come  prepared  to  spend  a 
week  at  Cherry  Bridge,  having  made  arrangements 
by  which  his  vacation  came  earlier  in  the  season  than 
usual.  He  had  sent  his  baggage  to  the  tavern  with- 
out saying  anything  to  Mrs.  Justin  about  it,  prefer- 
ring first  to  inform  Gay  of  his  intended  stay  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  thus  give  Mrs.  Justin  an  oppor- 
tunity of  inviting  him  to  spend  a  week  at  her  house. 
If  she  did  not  do  so,  he  would  stay  at  the  tavern. 
But  although  he  had  told  no  one  of  his  intentions, 
he  determined  to  make  no  change  in  them.  This  was 
a  good  place  to  hunt  and  fish,  and  he  would  stay  here 
and  hunt  and  fish  for  a  week.  Then  he  would  go  and 
spend  the  other  week  of  his  vacation  in  sailing,  as  he 
had  planned.  He  liked  sailing  better  than  anything 
else,  but  having  decided  to  give  up  half  his  holidays 
to  the  country  in  which  Gay  was  staying,  he  would 
not  allow  her  conduct  to  influence  his  plans  in  any 
way.  If,  in  the  course  of  his  sojourn  here,  Gay 
should  come  to  feel  that  she  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
herself,  he  would  then  determine  what  he  would  do. 
But  this  was  to  be  entirely  her  own  affair.  Not  one 
step  would  he  take  to  lift  her  out  of  the  pit  into 
which  she  had  deliberately  thrown  herself.  If  she 
chose  to  climb  out  and  come  to  him  —  but  he  stopped 
here ;  he  would  make  no  promises,  and  offer  no 
hopes,  even  in  his  own  mind.  He  was  obstinately 
angry. 

On  that  Sunday  afternoon  Mr.  Stratford  walked 
over  to  the  Justin  house.  He  would  have  preferred 
not  to  go,  but  there  were  reasons  why  he  thought  it 
would  be  better  for  him  to  do  so.  Mrs.  Justin  had 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  263 

not  treated  him  with  her  customary  cordiality  on  the 
evening  before,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  appear  to  re- 
sent this  by  omitting  his  usual  Sunday  call.  He  had 
reason  to  believe,  if  he  judged  from  nothing  but  Mrs. 
Justin's  words,  that  he  would  not  find  the  family  at- 
mosphere altogether  bright  and  agreeable,  but  he  did 
not  feel  himself  justified  in  staying  away  on  that  ac- 
count. If  he  found  a  storm  there,  or  the  signs  of 
one,  he  would  know  that  he  was  the  cause  of  it,  and 
there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  shrink  from  his 
share  of  the  rains  and  winds. 

He  was  rounding  the  foot  of  an  abrupt  hill  which 
lay  on  the  extreme  boundary  of  the  Bullripple  farm 
when  he  suddenly  came  upon  a  man  who  was  making 
a  shallow  excavation  in  the  soil  with  a  small  pickaxe. 
It  was  such  an  uncommon  thing  to  find  any  one  in 
this  part  of  the  country  working  in  the  fields  on  Sun- 
day, that  Stratford  was  quite  surprised  at  the  sight. 
In  a  moment,  however,  he  perceived  that  this  was  not 
an  ordinary  laborer,  but  an  elderly  man  dressed  in 
black,  who  was,  apparently,  interested  in  geology. 

"  Good  afternoon,"  said  Stratford. 

The  man  turned  suddenly,  and  his  face  showed 
plainly  that,  whatever  he  might  be  looking  for,  it  was 
not  company.  Stratford  could  not  imagine  why  the 
man  should  object  to  being  seen  digging  for  specimens 
of  rocks,  fish-worms,  or  anything  else,  unless  it  was  on 
account  of  doing  so  on  Sunday.  He  took  no  notice 
of  the  forbidding  expression,  and  inquired  pleasantly 
what  there  was  to  be  found  on  this  hillside. 

"  Nothing,"  said  the  man,  dropping  his  little  pick. 
"  There's  nothing  at  all  in  land  like  this,  either  inside 


264  .THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

of  it  or  on  top  of  it.  I  live  in  this  county,  though  not 
in  this  stony  paft,  and  I  like  to  know  what  kind  of 
soil  we've  got  in  one  place  and  another.  But  this 
land  ain't  worth  the  trouble  of  scratching  it." 

"It  does  not  appear  to  me  in  that  light/' said  Strat- 
ford. "  The  pasturage  is  fair,  and  the  crops  in  the 
valley  lands  are  very  good." 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  the  man.  And  as  he  spoke  he 
kicked  some  stones  and  loose  earth  into  the  hole  he 
had  made.  "Some  of  the  land  is  good  enough  for 
crops,  but  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  is  really  worth 
anything." 

"I  suppose  you  are  alluding  to  ores,"  said  Strat- 
ford. "From  what  I  have  observed  in  sections  of  the 
country  where  iron  is  found,  I  should  think  there 
might  be  ore  of  that  kind  here." 

"  Humph  ! "  said  the  man.  "  You  might  dig  here 
for  ten  years,  and  you  wouldn't  find  no  iron  except 
what  was  worn  off  your  shovels  or  picks.  Good-day 
to  you."  And,  taking  up  his  pickaxe  and  a  stout 
grape-vine  cane  which  lay  on  the  ground,  the  man 
walked  away  towards  the  village. 

Stratford  continued  on  his  way,  but  in  a  few  mo- 
ments he  stopped  and  looked  back.  The  man  was 
carrying  the  little  pickaxe  under  his  coat.  Stratford 
smiled  as  he  went  on.  "  I  cannot  imagine,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "  why  he  should  have  been  so  disturbed  at 
my  seeing  him.  He  could  not  have  been  stealing  any- 
thing, for  there  is  nothing  here  to  steal.  I  am  afraid 
that  after  going  to  church  this  morning  he  intended 
going  fishing  this  afternoon.  He  chose  a  very  poor 
place,  however,  in  which  to  look  for  bait." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  265 

Stratford  was  met  by  Mrs.  Justin  before  he  reached 
the  house.  "I  saw  you  coming  over  the  hill,"  she 
said ;  "  I  want  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you  before 
you  go  in."  And  then,  as  the  two  walked  down  to  the 
bank  of  the  creek,  she  said :  "  Your  work  is  accom- 
plished. The  engagement  between  Gray  Armatt  and 
Mr.  Crisman  is  broken." 

"  What ! "  exclaimed  Stratford.  And  for  a  moment 
he  felt  a  pang  of  contrition.  He  had  greatly  desired 
to  see  this  engagement  broken  off,  but  it  was  a  shock 
to  be  suddenly  told  that  there  had  been  a  rupture,  and 
that  he  had  made  it.  But  Mrs.  Justin's  next  words 
were  positively  astounding. 

"  I  would  not  have  told  you  this  so  abruptly/7  she 
said,  "if  I  had  not  intended  to  also  say  that  I  am  very 
glad  that  everything  is  at  an  end  between  these  two." 

"  You  doubly  amaze  me ! n  cried  Stratford.  "  Is  it 
possible  I  have  converted  you  ? " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  promptly  answered  Mrs.  Justin. 
"  You  were  wrong,  wrong,  absolutely  wrong  in  what 
you  did.  You  had  no  more  right  to  come  between 
those  two  than  you  had  to  try  to  come  between  any 
other  man  or  woman,  either  engaged  or  married.  It 
so  happens  that  you  have  done  a  good  thing,  but  you 
deserve  no  credit  for  it.  You  did  not  know  Mr.  Cris- 
man ;  you  merely  had  a  prejudice  against  him,  and 
for  no  reason  but  this  you  endeavored  to  make  a 
girl  forswear  herself." 

"  A  strong  statement,"  remarked  Stratford. 

"  None  too  much  so,"  continued  the  lady.  "  I  have 
come  to  believe  that  what  you  did  has  had  a  most  ex- 
cellent result,  but,  for  all  that,  it  was  a  very  wrong 
23 


266  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

thing  to  do;  it  was  a  crime.  Now  that  Mr.  Crisman  is 
out  of  the  way,  everything  is  free  and  open  to  you,  and, 
in  the  course  of  time,  I  suppose  that  you  and  Gay  will 
be  married.  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  both  be 
very  happy,  and  that  neither  of  you  could  possibly 
have  made  a  better  match.  But,  for  all  that,  you 
ought  never  to  look  back  upon  the  part  you  have 
played  without  sorrow  and  repentance." 

"I  wish  to  heaven,"  exclaimed  Stratford,  "that  the 
words  I  have  spoken  to  you  about  Miss  Armatt  and 
myself  could  be  believed !  But  I  suppose  this  is  too 
much  to  expect,  and  we  need  say  no  more  about  it. 
If  you  do  not  object,  I  should  like  to  know  how  this 
thing  happened,  and  what  is  the  present  state  of 
affairs." 

"  As  you  are  a  party  very  much  interested,"  said 
Mrs.  Justin,  "  of  course  you  ought  to  know  all  about 
it."  And  then  she  went  on  to  tell  him  what  had  hap- 
pened. She  repeated  the  substance,  as  she  had  heard 
it,  of  Crisman's  letter  to  Gay  ;  told  him  what  Gay  had 
written  in  answer ;  and  how  she  had  heartily  sup- 
ported the  girl  in  her  resolution. 

In  regard  to  the  letter  which  she  herself  had  re- 
ceived from  Crisman,  and  which  had  done  more  to 
show  her  the  true  character  of  the  man  than  even 
what  he  had  written  to  Gay,  she  said  but  little.  If 
she  had  told  what  that  letter  contained  she  would 
have  had  good  reason  to  fear  that  Stratford  would 
have  thrown  the  young  man  into  Cherry  Creek,  or 
that  he  would  have  been  thrown  into  that  stream  him- 
self. 

"  I  cannot  be  too  glad,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  in  conclu- 
sion, "  that  the  man,  before  it  was  too  late,  showed  us 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  267 

his  true  character,  and  that  he  himself  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  engagement  to  continue.  But  I  shall 
never  cease  to  grieve  that  my  friend  chose  to  take  the 
part  that  he  has  played  in  this  affair." 

" Knowing  you  as  I  do/'  said  Stratford,  "I  am 
quite  sure  that  I  like  you  better  for  that  opinion." 

A  meeting  between  the  girl  whose  engagement  of 
marriage  had  suddenly  been  broken  off  and  the  man 
who  had  been  the  cause  of  such  fracture  must  natu- 
rally be  an  awkward  one,  and  feeling  this  very  strongly 
Stratford  was  not  anxious  for  an  immediate  interview 
with  Gay.  If  he  had  known  what  serious  conse- 
quences had  followed  his  mountain  ride  with  Gay  he 
would  have  postponed  for  a  day  or  two  his  visit  to 
this  house.  Thoughts  of  this  awkwardness  may  have 
come  into  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Justin  also,  but  if  they 
did  she  allowed  them  no  weight. 

"  Gay  is  in  the  house,"  she  said,  "  and  you  may  as 
well  see  her  at  once.  You  know  how  the  matter 
stands,  and  it  will  not  be  pleasant  or  wise  for  any 
of  us  to  put  ourselves  in  stiff  or  constrained  posi- 
tions." 

When  Stratford  took  Gay  by  the  hand  and  looked 
into  her  face  he  saw  that  she  had  had  a  hard  blow, 
one  that  might  have  crushed  her  if,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  wounded  her,  it  had  not  aroused  the  most 
emboldening  sentiments  of  self-respect  and  just  re- 
sentment. She  was  not  a  girl  who  would  parade  an 
affliction  or  misfortune  by  retiring  on  account  of  it 
from  the  society  of  her  ordinary  friends  and  associ- 
ates. Nor  was  she  one  who  would  care  to  conceal 
a  trouble  from  those  who  took  an  interest  in  her  life 
and  happiness.  She  was  aware  that  Stratford  knew 


268  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

what  had  happened,  for  she  had  asked  Mrs.  Justin 
to  tell  him,  and  as  this  was  the  most  important  event 
of  her  life,  not  even  excepting  her  engagement,  she 
could  not  bring  herself  to  avoid  the  subject  with 
Stratford,  whom  she  believed  to  be  her  true  friend, 
and  whose  mind  she  knew  must  be  occupied  with  it. 
As  he  probably  understood  that  their  innocent  drive 
had  brought  about  the  catastrophe,  and  as  she 
believed  that  no  blame  should  attach  to  him,  she 
wished  him  to  see  that  she  intended  to  visit  him  with 
no  punishment,  negative  or  positive.  She  did  not 
know  much  and  had  never  thought  much  of  the  way 
in  which  the  world  is  in  the  habit  of  forming  its 
opinions,  but  her  good  sense  and  experience  were 
quite  sufficient  to  show  her  what  kind  of  opinion 
might  easily  be  formed  in  a  case  like  this,  where  the 
former  lover  had  torn  himself  away  and  where  the 
engagement-breaker  continued  in  favor;  and  she 
was  very  desirous  that  that  part  of  the  world  rep- 
resented by  Stratford  should  not  have  a  mistaken 
opinion. 

"  You  know,"  she  said,  as  soon  as  they  had  taken 
their  seats,  "that  Mr.  Crisman  and  I  are  no  longer 
engaged  ? " 

"  I  have  heard  it,"  said  Stratford. 

"  It  was  all  very  sudden  and  unexpected/7  she  con- 
tinued. "I  have  been  greatly  distressed,  and  Mrs. 
Justin  also,  and  we  are  not  ourselves  at  all.  But  we 
hope  our  friends  will  not  find  fault  with  us  any  more 
than  we  find  fault  with  them." 

As  she  said  this  Stratford  looked  steadfastly  at  her, 
but  made  no  answer. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  269 

"  I  don't  care  to  talk  about  this  any  more  than  I 
can  help/7  she  continued,  "and  all  that  we  can  do  is  to 
wait,  and  hope  for  the  best." 

"  What  is  the  best  1 "  asked  Stratford. 

"  The  best  thing  that  could  possibly  happen/7  said 
Gay,  "is  for  us  to  find  ourselves  able  to  come  to- 
gether on  our  old  ground,  when  everything  can  be  so 
easily  explained.  Mr.  Crisman  knows,  as  every  one 
knows,  that  I  always  have  been,  and  am  now,  per- 
fectly loyal  to  him." 

This  assertion  greatly  surprised  Stratford,  and  in 
his  heart  he  did  not  believe  it. 

u  I  do  not  understand  you/7  he  said.  "  How  can 
you  be  loyal  to  him  when  you  have  seen  fit  to  break 
your  engagement  to  him  ?  '7 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  can  exactly  explain  myself/' 
she  said,  "but  I  want  to  make  it  understood  that 
while  I  am  not  willing  to  be  engaged  to  Mr.  Crisman 
so  long  as  he  holds  the  position  he  has  taken,  I  have 
never  turned  aside  from  any  of  my  promises ;  and 
when  I  find  him  as  he  was  a  week  ago  he  will  find  me 
exactly  what  I  was  then.  Is  that  plain!7'  And  she 
looked  with  anxious  inquiry  at  Stratford. 

"  Oh,  yes,  quite  so/7  he  said  to  her.  But  he  said  to 
himself  that  Crisman  could  never  be  to  her  the  same 
man  that  he  was  a  week  ago.  He  saw  her  object: 
she  wished  to  establish  the  fact  that  there  had  been 
no  unfaithfulness  on  her  part. 

Here  was  an  opportunity  to  do  a  thing  which  Strat- 
ford considered  righteous,  honorable,  and  kind.  Here 
was  a  chance  to  tell  this  girl  that  she  had  done  all 
that  the  world  and  her  conscience  should  call  upon  her 


270  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  do;  that  after  what  had  happened,  the  loyalty  of 
which  she  spoke  could  be  but  a  thing  of  principle 
without  feeling;  that  the  reasons  which  prompted 
her  to  break  off  the  engagement  were  just  as  strong 
reasons  why  she  should  never  think  of  it  again,  and 
that,  setting  arguments  and  words  aside,  she  should 
embrace,  with  all  the  force  of  her  nature,  this  oppor- 
tunity of  escaping  a  ruined  life.  But  he  said  nothing 
of  all  this.  He  was  a  brave  man  and  an  able  one, 
but  he  now  shrank  from  the  task  of  doing  what  he 
thought  to  be  his  duty.  He  did  not  believe  he  could 
give  her  the  counsel  he  wished  to  give,  and  at  the 
same  time  maintain  the  position  he  wished  to  keep. 

"  It  will  be  better,"  he  thought,  "  that  she  should 
find  out  these  things  for  herself,  and  I  am  sure  she 
will  do  it.  And,  besides,  she  has  Mrs.  Justin  to  back 
her." 

Under  the  circumstances,  the  hours  could  not  be 
expected  to  pass  in  a  cheery  way;  and,  soon  after 
dinner,  Mrs.  Justin  and  Stratford  found  themselves 
sitting  alone  in  a  very  quiet  house. 

"I  cannot  quite  understand  Miss  Armattfs  de- 
meanor," said  he.  "  If  she  is  deeply  grieved  at  the 
dissolution  of  her  engagement,  I  should  expect  more 
evident  signs  of  distress ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if 
she  is  glad  of  her  great  deliverance,  I  think  she  would 
let  that  be  seen.  As  it  is,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to 
classify  her  apparent  emotions." 

"  I  believe,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  that  Gay  does  not 
thoroughly  understand  herself.  As  far  as  I  am  able 
to  judge,  her  mind  is  now  occupied  in  assuring  her 
that  she  has  always  stood  by  her  promises,  and  that 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  271 

her  steadfast  fidelity  gave  her  a  right  to  break  with  a 
man  who  insisted  that  she  should  admit  that  she  was 
not  true  to  her  given  word." 

"  So  long  as  she  reasons,"  said  Stratford,  "  the 
state  of  the  case  is  perfectly  satisfactory.  But  what 
surprises  me  more  than  anything  else  is  the  readiness 
with  which  you  accept  the  situation.  I  should  have 
supposed  that  no  matter  how  bitter  the  quarrel  be- 
tween these  young  people,  you  would  have  hoped  to 
see  them  reconciled  aod  the  engagement  renewed." 

"I  am  quite  willing  to  admit/7  said  she,  "that  it  is 
not  at  all  like  me  to  feel  the  satisfaction  and  thank- 
fulness that  I  do  feel  in  knowing  that  Gay  is  not  to 
marry  Mr.  Crisman.  But  this  is  a  very  unusual  case, 
and  my  conscience  fully  justifies  me."  And  then,  in 
her  mind,  she  added :  "  If  you  could  have  read  Mr. 
Crisman's  letter  to  me  you  would  not  wonder  at  my 
feelings." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

HERE  was  not  at  this  period  a  more 
ardent  match-maker  in  the  country 
than  Mrs.  People.  For  a  long  time 
she  had  been  much  dissatisfied  with 
the  condition  and  prospects  of  her 
son  John.  For  one  thing,  he  was 
growing  up  to  be  an  old  bachelor,  and  she  was 
opposed,  on  principle,  to  old  bachelors.  To  be  sure, 
it  was  a  very  fortunate  thing  for  her  that  her  brother 
Enoch  belonged  to  this  class,  for  otherwise  it  is  not 
at  all  probable  that  she  would  have  been  at  that  time 
the  mistress  and  director  of  the  household ;  but  the 
principle  remained  unchanged.  Mr.  People  was  not 
much  more  than  twenty-one  when  he  married  her ; 
and  here  was  John,  who  in  four  short  years  would  be 
thirty,  still  single.  It  was  plain  enough,  she  thought, 
that  he  was  beginning  to  be  a  man  of  importance  in 
his  business,  for  otherwise  old  Vatoldi  would  never 
have  allowed  him  to  manage  his  affairs  all  by  himself 
during  the  late  disturbances.  His  having  a  vacation, 
too,  showed  that  things  were  getting  to  be  better  with 
him;  and  what  was  next  to  be  expected  was  an 
increase  of  salary.  Taking  all  these  matters  together, 
it  was  as  clear  as  the  light  of  day  in  Mrs.  People's 

272 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  273 

mind  that  John  should  lose  no  time  in  getting 
married. 

And  here  was  Matilda  Stull ;  and  if  anybody  knew 
of  a  better  match  for  John  than  she  was,  Mrs.  People 
would  like  to  see  that  girl,  be  she  black-haired  or 
brown,  a  foreigner  or  a  native-born  American,  pro- 
duced at  once.  It  was  not  only  that  Miss  Stull  was 
a  very  pretty  girl,  and  very  well  dressed,  and  one 
with  whom  John  was  deeply  in  love,  but  there  was 
an  eminent  propriety  in  marriage  between  the  heir 
of  her  house  and  that  of  Stull,  which  loomed  up  in  a 
gigantic  form  in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  People.  If  John 
married  Matilda,  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born 
would,  in  the  course  of  time,  come  into  his  possession ; 
and  this,  from  Mrs.  People's  point  of  view,  was  the 
most  desirable  thing  that  could  possibly  happen. 

She  would  sit,  in  one  hand  a  table-knife  with  its 
blade  half  ground  away  by  repeated  sharpenings, 
and  in  the  other  a  partly  peeled  potato,  and  muse 
upon  the  happiness,  the  absolute  felicity,  which  would 
be  hers  when  the  old  farm  should  belong  to  John. 
To  buy  back  this  estate  appeared  to  her  a  simple 
impossibility;  to  get  it  for  nothing  by  means  of  this 
marriage  would  be  a  grand  stroke  indeed. 

Many  were  the  plans  she  formed  while  the  potato 
waited  to  be  peeled.  She  would  go  and  live  with 
John,  for  it  was  not  likely  that  that  city  girl  knew 
anything  about  housekeeping  or  the  management  of 
a  dairy.  And  yet  as  she,  Mrs.  People,  could  not 
expect  to  live  for  ever,  it  would  be  necessary  that  her 
son's  wife  should  learn  how  to  manage  his  household 
affairs.  .  Matilda,,  for  thus  the  good  woman  already 


274  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

thought  of  her  prospective  daughter-in-law,  should 
do  some  things,  and  thus  gradually  learn  the  duties 
of  her  position.  She  could  begin  by  washing  up  the 
tea  things  and  feeding  the  chickens.  In  course  of 
time  she  might  be  able  to  take  charge  of  the  churning, 
although  Mrs.  People  very  much  doubted  if  that  girl 
could  ever  produce  such  butter  as  she  now  set  before 
her  son. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  very  hard  for  her 
to  leave  her  brother  Enoch,  who  was  getting  some- 
what oldish  now,  and  must  sometimes  feel  a  little 
stiff  in  his  joints,  although  he  never  mentioned  any- 
thing of  the  sort.  She  had  lived  a  long  time  with 
her  brother,  and  in  some  respects  he  had  become  as 
necessary  to  her  as  she  was  to  him.  And  yet,  how 
would  it  be  possible  for  her  to  give  up  that  desire  of 
her  life,  to  live  once  more  in  the  house  and  on  the 
farm  to  which  Mr.  People  had  taken  her  as  a  bride  ? 

These  conflicting  feelings  troubled  her  greatly,  and 
she  would  sometimes  sit  and  muse  upon  them  much 
longer  than  was  conducive  to  the  regularity  of  the 
dinner  hour.  One  day,  however,  a  consoling  thought 
came  to  her.  It  was  possible,  nay  it  was  even  more, 
it  was  very  probable,  that  Matilda  had  in  her  com- 
position a  good  deal  of  spice,  and  not  only  such  spice 
as  ginger,  cinnamon,  and  cloves,  but  pepper,  and 
good  hot  red  pepper,  too,  if  Mrs.  People  knew  any- 
thing about  the  outward  signs  of  a  woman's  disposi- 
tion. Now,  this  peppery  disposition  might  make  the 
situation  of  a  mother-in-law  in  John's  home  a  very 
unpleasant  one,  and  it  might  be  well,  therefore,  that 
she  should  remain  in  her  present  very  comfortable 
position  in  her  brother's  house.  It  was  truly  com- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  275 

forting  to  the  mind  of  Mrs.  People  to  settle  this 
vexing  question  by  reflecting  that  in  all  probability 
Matilda  would  be  too  peppery  to  live  with ;  and  the 
remainder  of  the  potato  was  peeled. 

It  was  not  so  easy,  however,  for  John  People  himself 
to  settle  the  question  of  Matilda  Stull.  He  was  now 
having  opportunities  for  forwarding  his  suit  which  a 
short  time  before  he  would  not  have  believed  possible. 
He  was  living  near  fields  through  which  Miss  Stull 
walked  and  wandered,  and  where  she  had  actually  al- 
lowed him  to  walk  and  wander  with  her.  He  had  no 
duties,  and  could  walk  and  wander  when  he  pleased. 
But  the  days  of  his  vacation  were  rapidly  passing, 
and  he  had  done  nothing  decisive  yet.  At  any  mo- 
ment he  might  expect  to  hear  that  the  alterations  at 
Vatoldi's  had  progressed  so  far  that  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  go  to  the  city  and  take  charge  of  affairs. 
If  he  could  again  be  alone  with  Miss  Stull,  and  could 
make  up  his  mind  to  show  her  the  state  of  his  feel- 
ings, he  believed  he  ought  to  do  it.  In  the  city  he 
had  worshiped  her  from  afar,  and  had  never  believed 
that  there  was  the  slightest  chance  of  possessing  her ; 
but  here  in  the  country,  where  people  were  ever  so 
much  more  the  equals  of  each  other,  he  had  wor- 
shiped her  at  a  distance  of  a  foot,  or,  perhaps, 
eighteen  inches ;  and  if  a  young  lady  was  willing  to 
walk  with  a  young  man  through  fields  and  gates  so 
close  as  that,  John  thought  that  young  man  ought  to 
be  greatly  encouraged,  and  might  feel  justified  in 
speaking  out  his  mind. 

In  regard  to  what  old  Stull  might  say,  in  case  of  a 
favorable  reply  from  the  daughter,  John  was  not 
over-sanguine.  It  was  true  that  now,  being  a  part- 


276  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ner  in  the  concern,  although  with  a  very  small  share 
of  the  profits,  it  might  be  possible  that  Mr.  Stull 
would  turn  a  favorable  eye  upon  a  connection  which 
would,  in  a  way,  make  the  whole  business  a  family 
affair.  But,  in  spite  of  this  encouraging  thought,  if 
John  had  been  compelled  at  this  time  to  make  his 
proposals  to  the  father  instead  of  the  daughter,  he 
would  have  calmly  resigned  himself  to  perpetual 
bachelorhood.  But,  should  he  be  accepted  by  Miss 
Stull,  he  would  wait  and  bear  to  any  extent. 

John's  mind  was  in  this  condition  when,  one  fine 
morning,  Miss  Matilda  paid  a  visit  to  the  Bullripple 
household.  To  John  and  his  mother  she  came  like 
an  angel  with  white  wide-spreading  wings  5  to  old 
Enoch  she  appeared  as  an  uppish  young  woman  with 
a  cattle-irritating  parasol  j  and  to  Mr.  Stratford,  who 
regarded  her  from  his  window,  she  was  an  enigma. 
He  knew  who  she  was,  but  he  could  not  imagine  why 
she  should  come  to  that  house  and  sit  with  John  Peo- 
ple under  the  great  tree  in  the  front  yard.  Miss 
Stull  had  really  called  upon  Mrs.  People,  but  that 
sagacious  mother  had  sent  John  to  say  that  she 
would  be  out  in  a  very  few  minutes,  and  had  told 
him  that  he  must  entertain  the  visitor  until  she  came. 
Mrs.  People  was  devoured  by  desire  to  know  the  ob- 
ject of  Miss  StulPs  visit,  but  she  restrained  herself 
for  the  love  of  John.  It  was  a  heroic  sacrifice,  but 
she  made  it,  and  for  ten  minutes  sifted  sugar  over  a 
mass  of  bread  dough  without  knowing  what  she  did. 

Miss  Stull  was  very  desirous  that  Mrs.  People 
should  come  out;  she  wanted  to  ask  her  a  lot  of 
questions  j  but  she  did  not  betray  any  impatience 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  277 

towards  John.  The  young  man  might  be  useful  to 
her,  particularly  in  the  way  of  making  her  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Stratford,  if  the  chance  should  occur.  Miss 
Matilda  wished  very  much  to  know  the  handsome 
gentleman  she  had  seen  driving  with  Gay  Armatt. 
She  had  not  supposed  when  she  came  to  this  part  of 
the  country,  that  she  should  find  such  a  man  as  that. 
She  was  therefore  very  gracious  to  John,  and  asked 
him  so  many  questions  about  the  present  composi- 
tion of  the  Bullripple  household  that  the  young  man 
was  obliged  to  say  a  good  deal  about  Stratford,  and 
could  not  have  failed  to  present  him  had  he  made  his 
appearance. 

When  she  had  waited  quite  as  long  as  she  could, 
having,  in  the  meantime,  made  her  dough  all  cake, 
Mrs.  People  came  out,  and  John  was  constrained  to 
walk  away  reluctantly,  to  give  the  young  lady  an 
opportunity  of  stating  her  business  to  his  mother. 
He  did  not  go  very  far,  however,  but  busied  himself 
about  the  wood-yard,  from  which  point,  with  his  face 
ever  turned  towards  the  object  of  his  devotion,  no 
matter  how  he  might  move  and  revolve,  he  held  him- 
self ready,  the  instant  the  conference  should  be  over, 
to  accompany  Miss  Stull  to  the  gate  and  to  go  with 
her  as  far  over  our  continent  as  she  would  permit. 

What  Miss  Stull  came  to  find  out  was  the  true 
state  of  things  in  the  Justin  house.  Was  Miss  Gay 
engaged  to  the  young  man  who  was  walking  about 
in  the  parlor  without  her,  or  to  Mr.  Stratford,  whom 
she  had  seen  driving  with  her?  In  what  business 
was  this  Mr.  Crisman,  and  was  he  related  to  Mrs. 
Justin  ?  Was  Mr.  Stratford  rich  ?  Was  Mrs.  Justin 
24 


278  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

entirely  satisfied  with  Gay's  match  ?  All  these  things, 
and  a  number  of  other  points,  Miss  Stull  had  hoped 
to  learn  from  Gray;  but  having  failed  to  see  that 
young  lady,  and  not  being  able  to  wait  until  her 
call  was  returned,  she  had  made  a  swoop  upon  Mrs. 
People. 

After  some  very  thin  talk  about  butter  and  eggs, 
Miss  Stull  found  it  easy  to  introduce  the  subject  she 
had  at  heart.  Mrs.  People  had  also  a  subject  at 
heart  which  she  wished  to  introduce,  and  in  order  to 
get  at  it  she  rushed  with  haste  and  freedom  into  the 
subject  presented  by  her  visitor.  She  told  Miss  Stull 
so  much,  in  fact,  that  that  young  lady  turned  pale 
with  surprise,  and  then  pink  with  delight,  at  being 
the  recipient  of  such  startling  information.  Mrs. 
People  had  been  at  Mrs.  Justin's  house,  and  as  that 
lady  was  desirous  that  it  should  be  generally  known 
that  Mr.  Crisman  was  no  longer  engaged  to  Miss 
Armatt,  she  had  informed  Mrs.  People  of  the  fact, 
and  that  good  woman  had  easily  possessed  herself  of 
as  much  of  the  detail  of  the  event  as  Mrs.  Justin 
judged  proper  to  give  her.  This  information,  rapidly 
and  generously  garnished  from  the  resources  of  her 
own  mind,  Mrs.  People  laid  before  Miss  Stull. 

The  interview  was  protracted  so  long  that  John's 
ingenuity  was  greatly  taxed  to  keep  himself  busy  in 
view  of  the  couple  under  the  tree.  When  Miss  Ma- 
tilda rose  to  go,  thus  interrupting  an  abruptly  intro- 
duced maternal  panegyric  of  the  manager  of  Vatol- 
di?s,  her  mind  was  filled  with  a  pleasing  consciousness 
that  there  was  in  this  neighborhood  a  city  gentleman, 
handsome  and  stylish  and  not  engaged  to  be  married. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  279 

What  advantage  to  herself  she  expected  to  result 
from  this  Miss  Stull  might  not  have  been  able  to 
state  in  clear  and  convincing  terms.  But  it  was  a 
great  satisfaction  to  a  person  of  her  temperament  to 
know  that  the  facts  were  as  they  were. 

John  was  with  her  before  she  reached  the  gate,  and 
opened  it  for  her.  Then  she  stopped. 

"  Isn't  there  some  way,  Mr.  People,"  she  said,  "  by 
which  I  can  go  home  across  the  fields  instead  of  walk- 
ing by  the  side  of  this  monotonous  road  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  John,  "  but  there  are  fences  in  the 
way,  and  draw-bars  would  have  to  be  taken  down." 

"And  isn't  there  anybody,"  she  continued,  "who 
can  take  down  those  bars  ? " 

To  hear  this  question,  and  to  see  at  the  same  time 
the  meaning  little  smile  on  the  face  of  the  young 
lady  who  asked  it,  suffused  John's  soul  with  more 
actual  joy  than  it  had  ever  before  known.  Yes, 
indeed,  there  was  somebody  who  could  not  only  take 
down  bars,  but  who  would  tear  away  walls,  fill  up 
ditches,  and  slay  bulls,  if  necessary.  John  did  not 
say  this,  but  his  manner  indicated  it. 

As  they  walked  across  the  fields,  Miss  Matilda's 
spirits  were  very  lively,  and  her  manner  was  very 
cordial.  She  had  no  idea  of  alluring  this  happy  fly 
into  her  web,  but  she  desired  to  make  of  him  a  thread- 
carrier,  so  to  speak,  who  would  take  out  beyond  her 
present  sphere  of  action  those  finely  spun  induce- 
ments by  which  she  hoped  to  draw  to  herself  the  larger 
and  brighter  flutterer  upon  whom  her  eyes  were  fixed. 
John  now  lived  with  Mr.  Stratford,  and  through  him 
her  very  limited  circle  of  acquaintance  here  might  be 


280  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

enlarged  by  the  addition  of  this  gentleman.  She 
considered  it  her  right  to  know  every  presentable 
man  who  might  find  himself  within  the  limits  of  her 
social  range. 

Miss  Stull  also  hoped  to  make  Mr.  Stratford  com- 
prehend through  John  what  an  exceedingly  desirable 
thing  it  would  be  to  become  acquainted  with  her. 
But  her  methods  towards  this  end  had  only  the  effect 
of  causing  John  to  feel  that  she  was  a  more  charming, 
desirable,  and  gracious  superior  being  than  even  she 
herself  had  ever  supposed  it  possible  for  her  to  become. 
On  his  side  he  was  emboldened  to  a  point  of  courage 
he  had  not  imagined  he  could  reach.  Before  they  had 
gone  three-quarters  of  the  distance  through  a  clover 
field,  John  determined  to  make  his  sentiments  known. 
He  would  not  ask  her  plumply  if  she  would  marry  him, 
as  if  she  were  a  mere  country  girl,  but  he  would  show 
her  his  glowing  soul.  Had  she  not  with  the  sweet 
words  and  enrapturing  smiles  of  angels  deliberately 
set  it  on  fire  ?  And  was  it  not  due  to  her  that  she 
should  see  that  it  had  kindled  ? 

"Another  set  of  bars  ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Matilda,  as 
they  approached  the  fence.  "  Oh,  dear,  Mr.  People, 
what  a  deal  of  trouble  I  am  putting  you  to  !  " 

"  Trouble !  "  exclaimed  the  sturdy  John.  "  I  wish 
that  I  could  take  down  every  bar  that  you  might 
meet  with  through  your  whole  —  n 

"  Way  home,"  quickly  interpolated  Miss  Matilda, 
"  and  that  is  just  what  I  want  you  to  do.  You  are  so 
strong  and  seem  to  understand  these  fences  so  well/' 

"  That  is  not  the  point/7  said  John,  as  he  seized  a 
rail  and  jerked  it  from  its  sockets.  u  Other  people 
might  be  able  to  take  down  bars  — ?? 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  281 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Matilda ;  "  Mr.  Stratford,  for 
instance.  He  has  lived  so  much  in  this  country  that 
I  suppose  he  knows  all  about  such  things." 

"  It  isn't  the  being  able  to  do  it,"  said  John,  looking 
intently  into  the  face  of  the  young  lady,  "  it  is  the 
wanting  to  do  it." 

Miss  Matilda  smiled  upon  him.  "  It  is  very  good 
of  you,"  she  said,  "  to  be  willing  to  do  for  other  peo- 
ple what  they  cannot  do  for  themselves  Now,  if  I 
were  walking  here  alone  I  could  never  lift  those  heavy 
rails,  and  would  have  to  crawl  through  the  fence,  or 
to  climb  over  it  as  best  I  might." 

"  If  I  had  my  way,"  exclaimed  John,  forgetting  in 
his  excitement  as  he  walked  by  Miss  Matilda  that  it 
was  necessary  to  put  up  the  bars  he  had  taken  down, 
"there  should  never  be  in  the  way  of  your  feet  a 
stick,  a  stone,  a  clod,  a  lump,  not  so  much  as  a  piece 
of  gravel." 

"  Those  things  must  be  expected,"  said  the  young 
lady  with  demure  triteness. 

"  Oh,  no  they  needn't  be  ! "  cried  John  in  quick  and 
fervid  tones.  "  They  need  never  be  known  at  all,  if 
there  is  one  ever  ready  to  brush  and  hurl  them  away ; 
to  make  your  paths  as  smooth  —  as  smooth  as  roses." 

"  Which  are  not  smooth,"  said  Miss  Matilda,  "  at 
least  not  when  they  are  used  to  make  a  path  of.  That 
reminds  me  tha,t  at  our  house  there  are  a  lot  of  rose 
bushes,  and  some  of  them  have  flowers  on  yet,  but 
mother  and  I  both  think  that  they  are  a  poor  kind  of 
rose  bushes,  and  that  if  we  are  to  come  up  here  in  the 
summer  time  we  might  as  well  have  some  good  ones 
planted.  Do  you  know  the  names  of  some  good 
roses  that  would  grow  here  ?  Perhaps,  if  you  don't, 


282  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Mr.  Stratford  could  tell  you.  City  men  are  so  apt  to 
know  the  names  of  good  kinds  of  things." 

"I  am  a  city  man  myself/7  said  John  in  a  tone 
somewhat  different  from  that  in  which  he  had  just 
spoken,  "  and  I'll  get  you  all  the  roses  you  will  ever 
want.77 

"  I  don't  want  you  to  get  them,"  said  she.  "  I  only 
want  the  names  of  them.  And  there  is  another  thing 
I  would  like  to  ask  you  about.  How  do  you  make 
grass  grow  ?  Mother  and  I  think  there  ought  to  be  a 
great  deal  more  of  it  about  the  house,  but  the  farmer 
who  lives  there  don't  seem  to  understand  how  to  plant 
it." 

With  well-plied  questions  concerning  the  adornment 
of  their  country  home  Miss  Matilda  engaged  the 
attention  of  her  companion  until  they  had  reached 
the  last  fence.  Then  she  turned  and  held  out  her 
hand. 

"  Good-bye,  Mr.  People,"  she  said.  "  There  are  now 
no  other  obstructions  between  me  and  the  house,  and 
I  will  not  make  you  go  any  farther." 

"  There  is  an  obstruction,  Miss  Stull,"  said  John 
very  earnestly,  "  an  obstruction  to  my  every  joy, 
which  —  " 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know,"  quickly  interrupted  Miss  Ma- 
tilda ;  "those  dreadful  waiters  who  boycotted  your 
place.  It  must  be  an  awful  obstruction,  but  it  is 
bound  to  disappear  in  time,  if  you  stand  up  boldly. 
Father  has  talked  about  it,  and  he  says  so.  He  is 
very  fond  of  Vatoldi's,  and  he  says  we  must  go  there 
again  as  soon  as  things  are  all  right.  Good-bye,  Mr. 
People."  And  with  one  of  her  pretty  smiles,  she 
tripped  away. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.-  283 

Regarding  the  state  of  affairs  from  John's  point  of 
view,  it  was  quite  evident  that  angelic  beings  have 
their  disadvantages,  for  their  beautiful  wings  enable 
them  to  keep  just  out  of  one's  reach  without  feeling 
at  all  compelled  to  flee  the  company  of  the  one  who 
wishes  to  reach  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  Miss  Matilda,  in  her  character  of 
web-maker,  discovered  that  a  fly  who  may  be  sent  out 
to  inveigle  other  insects  is  apt  to  become  entangled  in 
a  very  troublesome  and  apparently  hopeless  manner  in 
the  subtile  threads  with  which  he  has  been  intrusted. 

This  young  lady,  however,  troubled  herself  very 
little  about  John's  condition.  She  liked  to  see  a 
young  man  in  this  sort  of  involvement,  especially 
when  she  herself  had  produced  it,  and  her  only  regret 
in  the  present  case  was  that  the  young  man  probably 
could  not  prove  as  useful  as  she  had  expected  him  to 
be.  The  most  important  object  of  her  life  at  the 
present  moment  was  to  become  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Stratford.  It  made  her  positively  angry  to  think  that 
she  did  not  know  him,  and  that  she  saw  no  way  open 
by  which  she  could  become  acquainted  with  him.  She 
had  called  twice  at  the  house  where  he  lived,  and 
accident  had  not  favored  her.  She  made  a  visit  at 
Mrs.  Justin's  at  a  time  when  he  was  expected  there, 
but  she  had  not  met  him.  She  had  hoped  to  know 
him  through  Gay  Armatt,  but  she  was  now  in  trouble 
and  could  not  be  expected  to  do  much  in  the  way  of 
introducing  gentlemen.  Miss  Matilda's  acute  mind 
had  discovered  what  sort  of  person  was  Mrs.  Peo- 
ple, and  she  was  afraid  to  allow  that  good-hearted 
but  exceedingly  open-natured  woman  to  know  that 
she  positively  wished  for  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 


284  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Stratford.  Had  she  done  this,  Miss  Stull  might  have 
expected  to  be  placed  in  a  very  undesirable  position 
by  the  irrepressible  frankness  of  Mrs.  People.  John 
had  been  her  chief  dependence,  but  she  was  now  very 
much  afraid  that  she  would  not  be  able  to  make  use 
of  him.  He  had  become  so  addled  that  he  could  not 
understand  any  hints  of  her  desires,  and  she  was 
even  afraid  that  if  she  should  succeed  in  making  him 
understand  what  she  wanted,  the  numskull  might 
actually  refuse  to  make  her  acquainted  with  a  man 
who  might  prove  to  be  a  rival. 

There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  depend  upon 
herself ;  and  as  Miss  Stull  was  quite  used  to  this  sort 
of  dependence,  she  was  not  long  in  forming  a  plan. 
She  must  meet  the  man  by  accident.  In  a  country 
place  like  this,  where  people  wandered  about  as  they 
pleased,  this  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult  matter ;  and 
as  Mr.  Stratford  had  probably  by  this  time  heard 
of  her,  and  as  he  knew  of  course  that  she  had  heard 
of  him,  they  would  not  meet  as  positive  strangers, 
and  a  chance  encounter  might  be  worked  up  to  ad- 
vantage. 

Miss  Matilda  was  rather  fond  of  sketching,  and 
although  she  had  but  small  ability  as  an  artist,  she 
was  extremely  clever  in  a  general  way,  and  could  so 
arrange  her  slight  artistic  gifts  that  they  made  a  very 
good  show.  The  weather  being  now  quite  suitable 
for  outdoor  sketching,  Miss  Stull  arrayed  herself  in 
a  most  becoming  and  appropriate  costume,  and  with 
a  sketch-book  and  a  little  camp-stool  under  one  arm, 
and  a  large  umbrella  with  a  long,  pointed  handle 
over  her  right  shoulder,  repaired  to  a  pleasant  spot 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  285 

at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  where  some  very  good  views 
could  be  had,  and  close  by  which  she  had  observed, 
from  a  distance,  that  a  sportsman  occasionally  passed 
on  his  way  to  the  trout  streams  on  the  higher 
grounds. 

The  sketcher  did  not  immediately  select  a  spot  at 
which  to  begin  her  work.  She  rambled  about  a  good 
deal,  and  looked  about  a  good  deal,  in  order  to  see 
what  suitable  thing  there  was  in  view  which  might 
be  drawn.  At  last  she  decided  upon  a  distant  view 
which  included  a  path  that  led  through  the  Bullripple 
farm  towards  the  village. 

Miss  Matilda  was  a  lucky  young  woman,  especially 
when  she  put  her  own  shoulder  to  her  wheel  of  fort- 
une, and  she  had  scarcely  sketched  in  the  outlines 
of  some  rocks  and  gentle  eminences  when  she  saw 
coming  towards  her,  among  these  outlines,  a  gentle- 
man with  a  fishing-rod  upon  his  shoulder.  For  some 
minutes  she  kept  her  eyes  fixed  upon  her  paper,  and 
then,  giving  a  little  shrug  to  her  shoulders  and  look- 
ing up  at  the  sunlit  sky,  she  put  down  her  book  and 
picked  up  the  umbrella,  which  lay,  closed,  on  the 
ground  by  her  side.  The  pointed  end  of  the  long 
handle  she  now  endeavored  to  thrust  into  the  ground, 
but  she  found  this  a  difficult  performance.  In  one 
place  the  soil  seemed  very  hard,  in  another  there  was 
long,  tangled  grass,  and,  after  a  jab  or  two,  she  de- 
cided that  she  would  not  like  to  sit  there.  After  some 
deliberation,  with  her  back  to  the  object  she  intended 
to  draw,  she  selected  another  spot,  but  here  she  found 
a  large  stone  just  under  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Having  quarried  on  this  for  some  moments,  she 


286  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

stopped  and  began  fanning  herself  with  her  handker- 
chief. Such  exertion  was  certainly  very  unusual  with 
her,  and  she  stood  panting  a  little.  The  man  must 
now  be  very  near. 

In  less  than  a  minute  she  heard  a  step,  and  a  gen- 
tleman's voice  said  to  her :  "  Allow  me,  miss,  to  plant 
your  umbrella  for  you." 

She  turned  quickly  and  saw,  not  Mr.  Stratford,  but 
Mr.  Crisman.  She  knew  him  the  moment  she  saw 
him,  and  was  now  truly  surprised,  for  she  had  sup- 
posed that  when  he  had  ended  his  engagement  he  had 
also  ended  his  visit  to  these  parts.  But  her  soul  did  not 
shrink  with  disappointment.  This  was  a  very  hand- 
some young  fellow,  and  she  would  be  delighted  to 
know  the  ex-lover  of  Gay  Armatt,  about  whom  she 
had  had  so  much  curiosity  and  so  much  doubt. 

With  an  ingenuous  smile  she  accepted  his  offer,  and 
the  strong  arm  of  Mr.  Crisman  soon  fixed  the  handle 
of  the  umbrella  in  the  ground  as  firmly  as  if  it  had 
been  the  mast  of  a  boat. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HILE  Mr.  Crisman  was  engaged  in 
setting  up  Miss  StulPs  sketching 
umbrella,  that  young  lady  looked 
upon  him  with  much  more  interest 
than  she  regarded  the  work  which 
he  was  doing  for  her.  He  was  cer- 
tainly a  handsome  young  man,  and 
in  some  respects  pleased  her  better  than  did  Mr. 
Stratford.  Mr.  Crisman,  too,  proved  fully  equal  to 
the  exigencies  of  this  chance  meeting.  He  was  natu- 
rally chatty  and  sociable,  and  having  become  intensely 
bored  during  his  companionless  stay  at  the  Cherry 
Bridge  tavern,  he  was  delighted  at  this  legitimate 
opportunity  of  assisting  and  of  talking  to  a  very 
pretty  young  lady.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  ask  ques- 
tions or  to  offer  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  sketch- 
ing business,  and  in  her  answers  to  these  Miss  Matilda 
managed,  with  much  deftness,  to  inform  him  who 
she  was  and  where  she  lived,  and  also  to  make  him 
aware  that  she  knew  who  he  was. 

Crisman  delayed  his  walk  and  watched  the  sketch- 
ing for  some  time,  but  at  last  he  took  up  his  rod.  He 
asked  her  if  she  was  coming  again  to  this  place  to 
sketch,  and  she  answered : 

287 


288  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  Of  course,  if  I  do  not  finish  this  to-day  I  must 
work  on  it  to-morrow." 

When  she  came  again  on  the  morrow,  she  found 
Mr.  Crisman  there. 

"  I  thought  I  would  come  over,"  he  said,  "  and  see 
how  you  were  getting  on  with  the  picture."  And 
that  was  all  the  reason  or  pretense  he  deemed  it 
necessary  to  give  for  his  presence. 

Miss  Stull  liked  this.  It  showed  that  there  was  no 
nonsense  about  the  young  man ;  and  she  greeted  him 
very  pleasantly.  Although  she  had  known  him  but 
such  a  very  short  time,  and  although  their  introduc- 
tion consisted  of  nothing  but  the  words  she  herself 
had  spoken  concerning  their  respective  identities,  Mr. 
Crisman  possessed  the  present  qualification  which  in 
her  eyes  raised  him  above  all  other  young  men  in  the 
world  :  he  was  there. 

He  staid  with  her  a  full  hour,  during  which  the 
drawing  made  little  progress,  but  the  acquaintance- 
ship made  much.  John  People  was  a  simple-minded 
young  man,  while  Mr.  Crisman  was,  in  many  ways,  ex- 
tremely sharp-witted  ;  yet  Miss  Matilda  drew  from  the 
latter  twenty  times  more  information  in  regard  to  the 
persons  of  their  mutual  knowledge  than  she  had  ever 
been  able  to  extract  from  the  former.  They  barely 
mentioned  Gay,  for  Mr.  Crisman  did  not  wish  to  talk 
about  her,  and  Miss  Stull  did  not  think  it  wise  to  do 
so ;  but  they  discussed  Mrs.  Justin  and  Mr.  Stratford 
very  thoroughly,  and  when  Mr.  Crisman  had  fin- 
ished his  analysis  of  the  character  of  the  gentleman, 
Miss  Stull  began  to  perceive  how  very  kind  chance 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  289 

had  been  in  sending  her  the  fisherman  she  did  not 
expect  instead  of  the  one  she  had  been  looking  for. 

Mr.  Crisman  then  proceeded  to  give  his  companion 
a  pretty  good  account  of  himself ;  and  as  this  was 
a  subject  on  which  it  always  pleased  him  to  talk, 
he  dwelt  upon  it  to  a  considerable  extent.  He 
omitted  all  allusion  to  the  original  cause  of  his 
visits  to  this  neighborhood,  contenting  himself  with 
stating  that  he  was  at  present  staying  here  to  fish 
and  shoot, — that  is,  if  he  could  ever  find  anything  to 
shoot, —  and  that  in  a  few  days  he  was  going  on  a 
yachting  expedition,  which  would  fill  up  the  re- 
mainder of  his  vacation. 

Mr.  Crisman  walked  home  with  Miss  Stull,  carried 
her  stool  and  her  umbrella,  went  into  the  house,  and 
was  presented  to  her  mother  as  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Justin. 
There  was  something  extremely  frank  and  straight- 
forward in  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Crisman.  There  seemed 
to  him  nothing  strained  or  unusual  in  his  making 
the  acquaintance  of  the  Stull  family  in  this  informal 
manner,  and  he  showed  a  readiness  to  enter  into  any 
intimate  social  relations  to  which  he  might  be  invited. 
Mrs.  Stull  liked  the  absence  of  that  stiffness  which 
she  often  noticed  in  the  society  which  her  husband 
compelled  her  to  enter,  and,  altogether,  these  three 
persons,  each  of  whom  was  beginning  to  feel  some- 
what lonely  in  this  country  neighborhood,  were  very 
well  satisfied  with  the  new  acquaintanceship. 

Miss  Stull  sat  by  herself  that  evening,  after  her 
mother  had  gone  to  bed,  and  seriously  pondered  upon 
Mr.  Crisman.  She  knew  better  than  any  one  who 


25 


290  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

merely  looked  upon  her,  that  not  only  were  the 
months  and  years  passing  by  her,  but  that  a  very 
good  proportion  of  them  had  already  passed,  and 
that  the  period  had  arrived  when  she  should  begin  to 
think  seriously  of  some  young  man  or  other.  As  far 
as  she  could  judge,  Mr.  Crisman  fulfilled  all  her 
requirements.  Personally  he  was  entirely  satisfactory, 
and,  although  she  did  not  suppose  he  was  rich,  he 
had  told  her  he  was  in  a  very  good  business,  and 
she  felt  sure  of  this,  for  otherwise,  in  her  opinion,  the 
engagement  of  Gay  Armatt  would  never  have  been 
allowed.  In  fact,  this  engagement  was  a  strong 
recommendation  to  Miss  Stull,  it  was  as  though  his 
preliminary  examinations  had  been  passed,  and  she 
might  therefore  take  him  at  a  much  more  advanced 
stage  of  friendship  than  a  person  who  had  not  thus 
been  proved.  That  the  engagement  had  been  broken 
off  did  not  trouble  her  at  all.  From  what  she  had 
seen,  she  attributed  it  entirely  to  Mr.  Stratford's 
agency,  and  if  the  girl  preferred  to  marry  that  man 
instead  of  Mr.  Crisman,  she,  Miss  Matilda,  was  quite 
satisfied. 

That  her  father  would  approve  of  Crisman  she  was 
not  at  all  sure,  but  then  her  father  disapproved  of  so 
many  things  it  would  not  do  to  consider  him  always. 
If  she  should  become  engaged  to  this  gentleman,  she 
herself  would  see  to  it  that  the  marriage  took  place  at 
the  proper  time,  and  as  she  saw  no  good  reason  for  any 
objection  on  the  part  of  her  parent,  she  felt  quite  sure 
that  the  name  of  J.  Weatherby  Stull  would  be  signed 
to  such  checks  as  might  be  needed  at  the  beginning 
of  housekeeping.  As  to  the  future,  Miss  Matilda  was 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  291 

very  hopeful.  She  was  the  principal  child  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  she  did  not  believe  that  her  father  would  dare 
to  divert  permanently  from  her  any  portion  of  her 
rightful  share  in  his  property. 

Having  thought  over  this  matter  for  nearly  two 
hours,  she  determined,  unless  subsequently  she  saw 
some  reason  for  changing  her  mind,  that  she  would 
marry  Mr.  Crisman,  and  that  she  must  lose  no  time 
in  making  very  good  use  of  her  present  exceptional 
opportunities. 

During  the  next  few  days,  several  admirable  meth- 
ods for  enjoying  the  scenery  and  the  air  of  the  coun- 
try about  Cherry  Bridge  were  suggested  by  Mr. 
Crisman.  He  believed  these  to  be  original  sugges- 
tions, not  perceiving  that  they  were  produced  by  the 
adroit  and  quiet  working  of  Miss  Matilda's  mind  upon 
his  own.  There  was  nothing  accidental  about  these 
walks  and  drives ;  Mr.  Crisman  came  boldly  to  Mrs. 
StulPs  residence,  and  boldly  stated  what  he  came  to 
propose. 

Miss  Stull  found  that  the  remaining  days  of  Mr. 
Crisman's  vacation  were  not  sufficient  for  the  comple- 
tion of  her  work,  and  she  resolved  to  extend  his  stay 
at  Cherry  Bridge.  For  the  day  on  which  he  was  to 
join  his  yachting  friends  she  proposed  an  excursion 
to  a  somewhat  distant  point  of  interest  which  she 
would  never  see  unless  she  had  some  one  like  Mr. 
Crisman  to  accompany  her.  At  first  he  declared  that 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  go  on  this  excursion,  but 
subsequently  telegraphed  to  his  friends  requesting 
them  to  postpone  for  a  day  their  start  for  the  yacht 
trip.  On  his  return  from  his  drive  with  Miss  Stull  he 


292  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

found  a  telegram  informing  him  that  wind,  tide,  and 
friends  with  limited  time  wait  for  no  man,  and  that 
the  yachting  party  had  sailed. 

Now,  there  was  no  reason  why  Mr.  Crisman  should 
not  spend  the  rest  of  his  vacation  at  Cherry  Bridge ; 
and  there  he  spent  it,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  in  the  society  of  Miss  Stull.  On  his  side  Mr. 
Crisman  had  no  serious  thoughts  in  connection  with 
this  very  pleasant  companionship.  He  enjoyed  it, 
but  he  never  expected  anything  to  come  of  it.  He 
expected  to  marry  Gay  Armatt,  and  would  not  have 
been  surprised  at  any  time  to  receive  a  note  from  Mrs. 
Justin  stating  that  it  would  be  in  the  interest  of  all 
parties  if  he  should  call  at  her  house  and  see  G-ay, 
who  was  beginning  to  look  at  the  matter  in  dispute 
between  them  in  a  different  light  from  that  in  which 
she  had  first  regarded  it.  He  had  not  the  slightest 
idea  of  making  any  conciliatory  propositions  himself ; 
his  nature  was  too  obstinate  for  this  ;  and  he  believed, 
besides,  that  anything  in  the  way  of  "knuckling 
down  "  on  his  part  would  be  injurious  as  a  precedent 
to  the  matrimonial  relations  he  proposed  to  establish. 
He  was  very  willing  that  the  people  at  the  Justin 
house  should  see  that  he  was  not  pining  away  on 
account  of  the  rupture  of  the  engagement,  and  that  he 
did  not  even  have  to  leave  Cherry  Bridge  in  order  to 
find  agreeable  companionship. 

And  thus  he  wound  his  merry  way  among  the 
subtile  threads  which  Miss  Matilda  spread  about  him, 
sometimes  breaking  away  in  this  direction  or  that, 
imagining  the  while  that  he  was  as  free  as  a  bird  in 
the  air,  but  carrying  with  him,  all  unknown  to  him- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  293 

self,  attachments  strong  enough  to  bring  him  back 
whenever  Miss  Matilda  wished  to  draw  him  to  her. 
As  his  holidays  approached  their  close,  the  lady  dex- 
terously tightened  and  strengthened  his  bonds,  until 
one  day  he  found  himself  so  enwrapped  and  secured 
that  he  could  not  fly,  nor  run,  nor  walk,  save  at  the 
will  of  his  captor ;  he  was  so  skillfully  bound,  in  fact, 
that  he  could  not  even  wish  to  flutter.  He  was 
engaged  to  be  married  to  Miss  Matilda  Stull. 

When  he  discovered  this  fact,  it  was  natural  that 
Mr.  Crisman  should  experience  some  sudden  emotions; 
one  of  these  was  an  emotion  of  vanity :  how  quickly 
had  he  conquered  this  fine  girl !  He  could  not  but 
think  of  what  so '  lately  had  been, —  Miss  Matilda 
could  not  prevent  that  backward  glance  of  his  mind, — 
but  the  thoughts  of  what  had  been  were  overpowered 
by  the  thoughts  of  what  existed  now.  All  those  fond 
feelings  towards  Gray  which  had  been  cooled  and  hard- 
ened by  his  jealousy  and  his  anger  Miss  Matilda  had 
warmed  into  strong  glow  and  directed  towards  her- 
self. One  thing  very  potent  in  preventing  Crismaii 
from  looking  backward  was  the  remembrance  that 
never  had  Gay  given  that  value  to  his  utterances 
which  had  been  so  earnestly  accorded  them  by 
Matilda.  That  deft  spinner  had  actually  spun  her 
web  over  his  heart.  He  loved  her.  He  felt  that  she 
exactly  suited  him,  and  paying  no  thought  to  peculi- 
arity of  circumstances  nor  to  hastiness  of  action, 
he  was  proud  and  happy  that  he  had  won  this  girl. 

When  all  this  had  been  settled  and  these  two  were 
pledged  to  each  other  for  life,  Miss  Matilda  enjoined 
upon  her  lover  strict  secrecy  for  the  present.  Nothing 


294  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

was  to  be  made  public  until  the  parties  should  meet 
in  the  city  in  the  autumn,  and  then  the  lady  would 
herself  attend  to  the  announcement  of  the  engage- 
ment to  her  father.  She  felt  quite  sure  she  would  be 
able  to  make  him  look  upon  the  matter  in  a  proper 
light;  when  this  was  done,  all  else  would  be  easy. 
And  then  she  allowed  Mr.  Crisman  to  depart. 

Miss  StulFs  next  move  was  to  inform  Gay  Armatt, 
as  soon  as  possible,  of  what  had  happened.  This  was 
not  in  accordance  with  the  injunctions  of  secrecy 
which  she  had  imposed  upon  Mr.  Crisman,  but  she 
considered  it  a  necessary  step,  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
make  it.  Until  Gay  had  been  positively  assured  that 
her  lover  had  gone  from  her  forever,  Matilda  could 
not  feel  safe. 

Miss  Matilda  had  not  seen  her  young  friend  since 
she  had  met  her  in  the  buggy  with  Mr.  Stratford. 
Mrs.  Justin,  having  heard  that  Crisman  was  still  in 
the  neighborhood,  said  nothing  about  it  to  Gay,  but 
endeavored  to  keep  her,  as  much  as  possible,  at  home, 
in  order  that  there  might  be  no  accidental  and  unde- 
sirable meeting.  Stratford,  too,  thought  it  would  be 
wise  at  this  time  to  leave  the  trout  streams  and  the 
woods  to  the  supposed  irate  young  man,  and  he  paid 
a  short  visit  to  the  sea-shore.  About  what  Crisman 
might  do  or  say,  should  he  meet  Stratford,  the  latter 
attempted  to  form  no  supposition ;  but  he  desired 
above  all  things  to  avoid  scandal  regarding  Gay,  and 
therefore  went  away. 

Miss  Matilda  had  noticed  this  state  of  affairs,  and 
thought  that  matters  had  been  managed  very  wisely ; 
but  now  that  Mr.  Crisman  had  gone,  there  was  no 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  295 

reason  why  Miss  Armatt  should  be  kept  any  longer  in 
seclusion  and  ignorance,  and  she  determined  to  see 
her.  It  is  true  that  Miss  Stull  did  not  owe  the  Justin 
house  a  visit,  the  debt  being  the  other  way.  "But  in 
the  country,  she  argued,  social  rules  may  sometimes 
be  set  aside  j  and  happening  to  be  driving  that  way, 
she  stopped  in  to  see  Gay.  It  had  been  so  long,  she 
explained,  since  she  had  heard  from  her  that  she 
feared  she  might  be  ill.  It  was  during  this  interview 
that  Miss  Matilda  allowed  Gay  to  suspect,  and  at  last 
actually  admitted  to  her,  that  she  was  engaged  to 
Crisman. 

"  I  did  not  intend,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Stull,  "  to 
tell  you  this  at  present,  but  the  secret  has  come  out 
almost  without  my  knowing  it.  This  is  a  queer 
world,  isn't  it,  dear?  People  pair  off  this  way,  and 
then  they  find  they  have  made  a  mistake  and  they 
pair  off  that  way.  But,  so  long  as  we  are  all  the 
happier  for  it,  we  ought  to  be  very  glad.  And  now, 
my  dear  Gay,  I  want  you  to  understand  that  both 
you  and  Mrs.  Justin  owe  us  a  visit  —  111  be  generous 
and  won't  count  this  —  and  if  you  don't  pay  it  very 
soon  you'll  find  us  standing  on  our  dignity.  So  now 
you  see  what  you  have  to  expect.  Good-bye,  and  I'm 
very  sorry  Mrs.  Justin  is  not  at  home." 

Gay  remained  standing  by  the  chair  from  which 
she  had  risen  when  her  visitor  took  her  leave.  Since 
the  actual  confession,  and  while  Miss  Matilda  spoke 
her  few  concluding  words,  Gay  had  not  opened  her 
lips ;  and  now  she  remained  struck  by  a  heavy  pain, 
the  nature  of  which  she  did  not  understand.  She 
had  sent  this  man  away,  and  she  ought  to  have  known 


296  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

«» 

him  well  enough  to  comprehend  that  he  would  not 
return ;  why,  therefore,  should  she  feel  pain  at  what 
he  had  done  ?  A  man  who  could  so  quickly  turn  his 
affections  upon  another  could  not  be  worthy  of  her. 
Why,  therefore,  should  she  now  feel  pain  ?  He  had 
treated  her  as  no  man  should  treat  a  woman;  she 
had  declined  to  be  longer  engaged  to  him;  and  he 
had  gone  to  another  woman.  Her  pride,  her  reason, 
her  womanly  self-respect,  stood  by  her  to  comfort 
and  support  her.  But,  in  spite  of  all  support  and 
comfort,  she  did  feel  pain. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

}OHN  PEOPLE  had  been  summoned 
by  Mr.  Stull  to  the  city,  the  alter- 
ations at  Vatoldi's  having  reached 
a  stage  where  the  daily  supervision 
of  the  manager  was  necessary.  In 
the  course  of  a  week  or  so,  however, 
John  contrived  to  arrange  matters  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  himself  two  days  in  which  to  visit  Cherry  Bridge. 
He  informed  Mr.  Stull  that  there  were  some  affairs 
he  wished  to  attend  to  which  the  somewhat  unex- 
pected conclusion  of  his  holiday  had  forced  him  to 
neglect.  He  did  not  say  that  this  neglected  business 
was  a  proposition  of  love  to  Mr.  StulFs  daughter,  but 
such  was  the  fact.  John  fully  determined  that  be- 
fore he  left  his  native  fields  again  he  would  boldly 
lay  the  state  of  his  heart  before  Miss  Stull,  and  find 
out  how  she  regarded  him. 

For  the  first  day  after  his  arrival  in  the  country 
John  wandered  over  the  fields,  along  the  roads,  and 
in  every  place  where  he  thought  it  might  be  possible 
accidentally  to  encounter  Miss  Matilda.  But,  Mr. 
Crisman  having  recently  left,  that  young  lady  had 
gladly  given  herself  a  rest  from  country  strolling, 
and  John  met  her  not.  A  visit  to  her  house  naturally 
suggested  itself  to  his  mind,  but  this  course  was 

297 


298  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

repugnant  to  him.  In  the  first  place,  he  thought  that 
if  he  went  to  the  Stull  house  everybody  would  know 
what  he  went  for,  and  that  he  could  not  endure. 
Then,  again,  he  could  not  be  sure  of  seeing  Miss 
Matilda  alone  in  her  home,  and,  even  if  he  had  this 
good  fortune,  he  felt  that  in  a  room  or  on  a  piazza  he 
could  not  speak  to  her  as  freely  and  eloquently  as 
if  he  were  with  her  in  the  open  fields. 

On  the  second  morning  the  pensive  resignation  on 
his  brow  deepened  into  positive  trouble,  for  it  now 
seemed  quite  probable  to  him  that  fate  had  decreed 
that  he  should  visit  Miss  Matilda  at  her  home.  How 
he  should  do  this,  at  what  time  he  should  go  there, 
how  he  should  demean  himself,  what  primary  reason 
he  should  give  for  his  visit,  were  questions  which 
greatly  preyed  upon  his  mind.  Wandering  slowly 
along  the  verdant  banks  of  Cherry  Creek,  he  lifted  up 
his  eyes,  and  beheld  Miss  Gay  Armatt  approaching 
him.  Instantly  there  came  into  his  mind  a  happy 
thought.  He  had  met  Miss  Armatt  several  times, 
both  at  his  uncle's  house  and  at  Mrs.  Justin's,  and,  by 
his  mother's  report,  he  knew  her  to  be  a  most  kind 
and  good  young  woman.  "  Now,  why  should  she  not 
help  me  ?  "  was  John's  happy  thought.  "  I  don't  mind 
telling  her  just  what  is  the  matter,  and  if  she  is  as 
kind  as  they  say  she  is,  it  will  be  easy  enough  for  her 
to  get  Matilda  to  take  a  walk  with  her  and  so  give  me 
all  the  chance  I  want." 

Having  come  up  with  the  young  lady,  John  took 
off  his  hat,  bade  her  good-morning  and  stopped.  Gay 
raised  her  eyes  towards  him  as  she  returned  his  salu- 
tation, and  John  thought  that  the  lady  probably  did 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  299 

not  feel  very  well.  She  was  not  looking  her  best.  He 
made  some  inquiries  about  Mrs.  Justin  which  had 
the  effect  of  arresting  Miss  Armatt's  steps  j  and  then, 
finding  that  he  could  think  of  no  other  prefatory 
remarks,  John  perceived  that  it  would  be  necessary 
for  him  to  say  immediately  what  he  had  to  say. 

"  Excuse  me,  miss/7  said  he,  "  for  taking  your  time, 
but  I  want  to  ask  you  something,  and  I  hope  you  are 
not  in  a  hurry." 

"  I  am  in  no  hurry  at  all/'  said  Gay.  "  Is  there  any- 
thing I  can  do  for  you ! n 

This  question  helped  him  very  much.  "  Oh,  yes, 
indeed/7  he  said,  "  there  is  something  you  can  do  for 
me.  It  may  seem  very  queer  to  you,  Miss  Armatt, 
for  me  to  stand  here  and  plump  things  out  to  you  in 
this  way ;  but  the  fact  is  there's  no  time  to  be  lost, 
and  what  I  don7t  do  to-day  can't  be  done  at  all  j  at 
least  there  is  no  likelihood  of  it.  It  will  amaze  you  a 
good  deal,  I  have  no  doubt,  when  you  hear  me  say — 
and  I  must  own  that  Fm  amazed  to  hear  myself  say 
it  out  freely  this  way — that  I  am  in  love." 

"In  love!77  exclaimed  Miss  Gay,  and  there  came 
into  her  face  a  quick  look  which  startled  John.  It 
seemed  to  him  as  though  she  might  bound  into  the 
bushes  and  flee  from  his  sight  like  a  deer.  Could  it 
be  possible  that  this  young  lady  thought  that  he  was 
about  to  make  an  amatory  proposal  to  her  ? 

"  It  is  Miss  Stull  I7m  in  love  with/7  said  John, 
quickly,  "and  Fm  pretty  sure  I  shall  never  get  a 
chance  to  let  her  know  it  if  somebody  doii7t  help  me, 
and  so  I  thought  Fd  ask  you,  thinking  if  you  wouldn't 
do  it  for  my  sake,  which  would  be  natural  enough, 


300  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

not  knowing  me  very  well,  you  might  do  it  for  my 
mother's,  who  looks  on  you  and  Mrs.  Justin  as  her 
most  valued  neighbors." 

It  had  been  days  since  Gay  had  smiled,  but  she 
could  not  help  smiling  now.  "  I  am  always  glad  to  do 
anything  neighborly,"  said  she,  "  but  this  seems  very 
odd.  Does  your  mother  wish  you  to  marry  Miss  Stull  ?" 

"She  just  builds  on  it,"  answered  John,  "and  I 
want  you  to  know,  Miss  Armatt,  that  although  this 
thing  might  look  out  of  the  way  to  an  outside  party, 
there's  a  good  deal  more  reason  for  it  than  anybody 
except  just  two  or  three  has  any  idea  of.  Miss  Stull 
is  the  daughter  of  a  rich  man,  and  I  am  only  the 
manager  at  Vatoldi's.  But  there  are  things  that  I 
can't  tell  you,  but  which  will  come  out  some  day, 
that  make  matters  a  good  deal  more  even  between  us 
than  you  would  be  likely  to  think.  And  I  don't  doubt, 
either,  that  old  Stull  will  come  round  all  right  when 
the  affair  has  been  settled  between  me  and  his  daugh- 
ter, and  has  run  on  long  enough  to  get  seasoned." 

"  But  what  would  you  have  me  to  do  with  it  ? " 
asked  Gray. 

"  It's  just  this,"  said  John :  "  This  is  the  last  day  I 
have  got  to  stay  here,  I  don't  know  for  how  long,  and 
I  am  bound  to  tell  her  before  I  sleep  to-night.  Now, 
I  can't  go  to  her  house  to  tell  her,  Miss  Armatt.  Upon 
my  word  I  can't!  If  I  was  to  meet  her  mother  or 
those  two  young  sisters,  it  would  drive  every  word 
out  of  my  mind.  But  on  the  green  grass  and  under 
the  blue  sky  I  could  tell  her  all  I  feel  and  think.  And 
that  is  what  I  want  to  get  a  chance  to  do.  Now,  if 
you  would  ask  her  to  take  a  walk  with  you  this  after- 
noon, and  I  was  to  fall  in  with  you,  and  you'd  think 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  301 

of  some  reason  or  other  for  being  obliged  to  go  home 
and  leave  us  two  there,  then  you'd  be  doing  for  me 
more  than  any  woman  on  earth  could  do  except  Ma- 
tilda herself,  if  she  be  so  minded  to  say  the  word  I 
want  her  to  say." 

Gay  stood  and  looked  upon  the  ground.  This  was 
all  very  unpleasant  and  embarrassing.  Here  was  a 
young  man  whom  she  had  heard  of  as  a  very  good 
and  deserving  young  man,  who  had  been  so  unhappy 
as  to  fall  in  love  with  Matilda  Stull.  She  did  not 
thoroughly  understand  the  relative  social  conditions 
of  the  two,  but  she  knew  that  one  was  a  rich  young 
lady,  and  the  other  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  People. 
These  situations  in  life  appeared  quite  incongruous 
to  Gay,  but  she  only  thought  of  them  in  connection 
with  her  wonder  that  this  love  of  the  young  man  had 
ever  been  suffered  to  grow  up.  In  regard  to  the 
present  and  important  phase  of  the  question,  there 
was  but  one  thing  to  think  of,  and  that  was  that 
Miss  Stull  was  already  engaged. 

And  yet  Gay  could  not  say  this  to  John  People. 
She  had  not  told  Mrs.  Justin,  nor  Mr.  Stratford,  nor 
any  one,  for  it  was  not  only  the  pledge  of  secrecy 
which  prevented  her  from  telling  of  this  engagement. 
Had  she  been  free  to  speak,  she  could  not  have  told 
any  one  that  the  man  who  but  a  few  weeks  before  had 
been  her  lover  had  now  promised  to  marry  another 
woman. 

"  Now,  you  see,  Miss  Armatt,"  said  John,  "  it  is  a 
very  simple  thing  I  ask  of  you.  Won't  you  be  kind 
enough  to  do  it  for  me  ?  " 

There  was  that  in  the  tone  and  voice  and  look  of 
John  People  which  was  so  honest,  and  withal  so  ten- 
26 


302  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

der,  that  it  touched  Gay's  heart.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  that  this  man  was  truly  in  love.  Would  her 
conscience  permit  her  to  let  him  hurl  himself  against 
that  cold  steel  wall  which  he  adored,  and  in  which  he 
fancied  he  saw  a  reflection  of  himself? 

"  It  is  a  very  hard  thing/'  thought  Gray,  "for  me  to 
have  to  do  this.  It  is  just  the  same  as  if  I  were  refus- 
ing him  for  Matilda  Stull.  People  ought  to  attend 
to  these  things  for  themselves.  And  yet  I  know,  and 
he  doesn't  know.  Ought  I  to  let  him  go  on  in  this 
blind  way  ?  It  would  be  too  cruel." 

"  Mr.  People,"  she  said,  "  if  I  were  you,  I  think  I 
would  not  carry  this  matter  any  further.  Indeed,  I 
would  not." 

John  looked  at  her  very  steadily,  and  a  little  of  the 
ruddiness  seemed  to  fade  out  of  his  face.  "  Why  do 
you  say  that,  Miss  Armatt  ?  Have  you  any  reason  to 
think  that  I  ought  not  to  speak  to  her  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Gay,  "  and  a  very  good  reason.  I  can't 
explain  it  to  you,  but  —  " 

"  Now,  Miss  Armatt,"  interrupted  John,  with  eager 
haste,  "  I  understand  what  you  mean,  but  you  are  not 
right.  You  don't  know  Miss  Stull  as  I  do.  And  even 
if  things  were  as  unequal  between  us  as  they  look  to 
be, —  and  upon  my  word,  Miss  Armatt,  I  tell  you  they 
are  not, —  it  wouldn't  make  any  difference  to  her. 
I've  walked  with  her,  and  Pve  talked  with  her,  and  if 
you  could  have  heard  her,  you  would  know  what  I 
know.  And  besides,"  he  added,  throwing  into  his 
voice  a  tone  of  strong  entreaty,  "  I  want  to  have  this 
settled.  I  can't  live  this  way  any  longer.  Even  if 
she  didn't  mean  all  she  seemed  to  mean,  and  if  she 
didn't  care  about  what  I  said,  I  want  to  know  it. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  303 

Perhaps  if  she  thinks  I  am  too  forward,  I  might  be 
able  to  make  her  understand  that  there  have  been 
changes.  Things  are  not  exactly  as  they  used  to  be. 
You  see,  Miss  Armatt,  all  I  ask  is,  just  help  me  to  see 
her;  only  let  me  talk  to  her." 

"  Mr.  People/7  said  Gay,  looking  at  him  very  earn- 
estly, and  with  a  certain  gentleness  in  her  voice,  "  I 
really  would  not  try  to  see  Miss  Stull.  It  will  be  much 
better  for  you  to  give  it  all  up  at  once.  I  know  that 
you  can  never  be  anything  to  her.'7 

"  You  know  !  '7  cried  John.  "  Do  you  really  mean 
that  ? » 

"  I  mean  it,77  she  said  j  "  most  earnestly  and  truly  I 
mean  it.  You  ask  me  to  help  you,  and  there  is  no 
way  in  the  world  in  which  I  can  help  you  so  well  as 
to  keep  you  from  making  one  step  more.'7 

"  Miss  Armatt,"  said  John,  his  voice  a  little  broken, 
"  do  you  know  anything  which  gives  you  the  right  to 
say  that?7' 

"Yes,  I  do,77  answered  Gay,  "and  it  would  be 
wicked  and  cruel  in  me  not  to  say  so.  I  am  very, 
very  sorry  for  you,  Mr.  People,  but  it  would  be  of  no 
use  at  all  for  you  to  go  to  Matilda  Stull,  and  you 
ought  not  to  do  it.77 

John  stood  looking  upon  the  ground;  then  he 
raised  his  eyes.  "  No  use  at  all  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Not  one  bit/7  answered  Gay.  "  I  positively  know  it.7? 

John's  breast  heaved,  and  he  turned  to  one  side. 
Then  he  held  out  his  hand.  "  I  am  much  obliged  to 
you,  Miss  Armatt/7  he  said.  And  he  went  away. 

Gay  stood  and  looked  after  him.  Never  again 
could  that  young  man  walk  under  blue  skies  and 
over  green  fields  with  the  woman  he  loved.  If  he 


304  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

had  ever  done  anything  of  the  kind,  all  that  was  left 
to  him  now  was  to  look  back  upon  it. 

And  she,  herself  ?    She  must  look  back  too. 

She  walked  on  a  few  steps,  and  then  she  sat  upon 
a  stone.  "  It  is  too  hard,'7  she  said  to  herself,  "  that 
this  should  be  brought  to  me  from  both  sides.  It  is 
too  much ! n  And,  putting  her  face  into  her  hands, 
there  burst  from  her  the  first  tears  she  had  shed  since 
she  became  a  woman. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


R.  ZENAS  TURBY  had  not  been 
very  successful  in  his  search  for 
iron  on  the  farm  of  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple.  He  had  found  strong  evi- 
dences of  the  existence  of  the  ore 
on  the  lands  of  Mr.  Stull,  but  the 
deposits  did  not  seem  to  extend  themselves  in  the 
direction  of  the  Bullripple  hills  and  fields.  When 
Mr.  Turby  returned  to  his  country  town,  after  the 
Sunday  on  which  Mr.  Stratford  had  seen  him  making 
his  investigations,  he  wrote  Mr.  Stull  a  report  of  the 
result  of  his  searches,  and  it  was  very  plain  to  him 
from  the  reply  which  he  received  that  this  report  was 
not  at  all  satisfactory  to  his  employer. 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  man  of  business  as  well  as  a  man 
of  feeling,  and  while  he  would  have  been  very  glad  to 
see  Enoch  Bullripple  ousted  from  his  farm  and  to 
possess  himself  of  the  same,  he  did  not  care  to  go 
into  this  transaction  solely  from  motives  of  revenge; 
he  wished  also  to  derive  some  direct  advantage 
from  it. 

The  question  of  the  tenure  of  the  lands  was  a  very 
simple  one.  Mrs.  People's  husband  and  Enoch  had 
each  bought  their  farms  from  the  heir  of  an  old 
farmer  who  had  been  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 

305 


306  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Cherry  Bridge.  The  sale  had  been  perfectly  satis- 
factory to  all  parties,  and  Enoch  had  paid  in  full  for 
his  farm,  but  Mr.  People  had  never  been  able  to  do 
this,  and  therefore  it  was  that  Mr.  Stull,  desiring  a 
country  place  in  a  picturesque  region  for  his  growing 
family,  had  found  it  possible  to  buy  up  the  mortgage 
against  said  farm,  to  oust  the  People  family,  and  to 
possess  himself  of  the  property.  During  the  last  few 
years,  however,  it  had  become  known  that  the  old 
farmer  before  mentioned  had  had  other  heirs  besides 
the  one  who  sold  the  farms  to  Mr.  People  and  Enoch 
Bullripple ;  but  as  these  heirs  lived  in  the  West,  and 
probably  did  not  know  that  their  relative  had  owned 
this  mountain  property,  and,  if  they  did,  were  not 
likely  to  enter  into  litigation  for  their  share  of  the 
comparatively  small  value  of  the  farms,  the  sandy 
foundations  of  this  real  estate  transaction  were  con- 
sidered to  be  quite  sound  enough  for  ordinary  intents 
and  purposes. 

Now,  Mr.  Stull  looked  upon  the  matter  in  this 
light :  If  his  land  and  that  of  old  Enoch  were  rich  in 
iron  ore,  he  wished  to  possess  himself  of  it  all  on  a 
secure  tenure,  and  would,  therefore,  gladly  take 
measures  to  have  the  distant  heirs  come  forward 
and  prove  their  claims,  and  cause  the  property  to  be 
put  upon  the  market,  whereupon  he  would  buy  it, 
willingly  sacrificing  what  he  had  paid  before  for  the 
sake  of  the  larger  gain.  But  if  this  should  prove  to 
possess  no  mineral  wealth,  its  agricultural  value  was 
not  sufficient  to  make  him  desirous  of  buying  it 
again,  and  he  was  perfectly  willing  to  trust  his  good 
fortune  and  his  lawyer  to  hold  possession  of  it.  Nor 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  307 

was  the  fact  that  Mr.  Turby  had  found  iron  on  his 
farm  sufficient  to  induce  Mr.  Stull  to  take  the  meas- 
ures he  had  meditated.  If  he  could  not  have  Enoch 
Bullripple's  land,  and  perhaps  some  adjoining  prop- 
erties, so  as  to  form  a  large  tract  which  would  be 
worth  working,  Mr.  Stull  did  not  care  to  go  into  the 
iron  ore  business.  Therefore  it  was  that  Turby's 
report  was  not  satisfactory  to  him. 

Now,  the  energetic  Zenas  had  hoped  for  himself  a 
very  fair  profit  from  this  piece  of  business,  and  he 
was  loath,  therefore,  to  see  it  dropped.  Perceiving 
more  plainly  than  he  had  perceived  it  before  that  he 
ought  to  find  iron  ore  on  the  laud  of  Enoch  Bullripple, 
he  determined  to  do  it,  if  the  thing  were  possible.  He 
thereupon  made  another  visit  to  Cherry  Bridge ;  and 
as  Enoch  and  his  sister  were  sitting  down  to  dinner 
on  a  pleasant  summer  day,  they  both  saw  the  tax  col- 
lector and  amateur  professor  of  applied  geology  busy 
at  work  near  the  top  of  a  little  hill  not  a  half  mile 
from  their  window. 

"  Confound  that  sneak  of  a  Zenas  Turby ! "  ex- 
claimed Enoch,  rising  to  his  feet.  "  Pve  a  mind  to 
take  my  gun  and  blow  off  the  top  of  his  head !  He 
knows  Fve  told  him  not  to  come  scratchin'  here  at  my 
land.  He  thinks  he's  so  far  away  we  can't  see  him.77 

Mrs.  People  was  not  in  a  happy  humor.  It  had  not 
been  very  long  since  she  had  been  told  by  her  son 
John,  just  before  he  had  left  her  for  the  city,  that  the 
brilliant  hopes  she  built  upon  the  basis  of  a  Stull- 
People  combination  had  come  to  naught,  and  must 
be  allowed  to  vanish  utterly.  It  was  very  hard  for 
her  to  bear  a  blow  like  this,  and  her  customary 


308  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

expression  of  outreaching  good-nature  had  changed 
to  one  of  mild  ill-humor.  The  vision  of  herself  as  the 
central  figure  in  her  old  homestead,  or  at  least  declin- 
ing to  assume  that  position  only  from  the  fact  that 
Matilda  Stull  might  prove  a  disagreeable  daughter  to 
live  with,  had  been  a  very  dear  one  to  her.  She  had 
seen  it  by  day  and  by  night  5  while  making  pies,  at 
the  working  of  butter,  and  even  during  the  intricate 
processes  of  the  preserving  of  plums  and  the  concoc- 
tion of  currant- jelly.  To  give  it  up  was  like  a  spoon- 
ful of  brine  in  a  custard-pudding. 

The  worst  thing  about  Mrs.  People's  ill-humors, 
which  were  of  very  rare  occurrence,  was  the  fact  that 
no  one  could  tell  in  what  direction  they  would  vent 
themselves.  Like  a  howitzer  strapped  to  the  back  of 
a  mule,  they  were  as  likely  to  be  directed  against 
friend  as  foe. 

"  Now,  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  Enoch," 
said  she,  "  are  you  workin'  yourself  up  into  such 
tantrums  for?  *If  Zenas  Turby  finds  iron  on  your 
land,  how's  that  goin'  to  hurt  you  ?  What  with  the 
rains  one  year,  and  the  drought  the  next,  and  the 
chicken-pip  regular  every  spring,  there  ain't  much  else 
you  get  ofi°  it.  If  he  finds  ore,  it's  yours  and  not  his. 
So  what's  the  use  of  jumpin'  up  that  way  and  pullin' 
the  table-cloth  all  crooked  ? " 

Enoch  sat  down,  but  he  kept  his  eye  fixed  on  Zenas, 
who  was  now  engaged  in  filling  up  a  hole  he  had 
made  in  the  ground.  When  this  had  been  done,  he 
gathered  some  large  flat  stones  and  made  a  little  pile 
of  them  near  the  place  where  he  had  dug  his  hole. 
"  Markin'  the  spot,  eh  ? "  said  Enoch  to  himself,  for 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  309 

he  thought  it  not  wise  to  make  any  further  remarks 
on  it  to  his  sister.  "  What  is  he  doin'  that  for  ? " 

There  now  came  into  the  shrewd  old  mind  of  Mr. 
Bullripple,  as  he  watched  the  intruder  disappear 
across  the  fields,  a  suspicion  that  those  people  out 
West,  who  it  had  been  rumored  ought  to  have  had  a 
voice  in  the  giving  of  a  title  to  this  land,  might  have 
commissioned  Zenas  Turby  to  examine  into  the  value 
of  the  property  and  find  out  whether  or  not  it  was 
worth  fighting  for.  This  supposition  disturbed  the 
mind  of  Enoch,  for  although  he  had  declined  to  be- 
lieve in  the  alleged  claims  of  the  far-away  heirs,  and 
had  very  strong  faith  in  the  virtue  of  possession  when 
it  related  to  land  that  had  been  bought  and  paid  for, 
it  was  natural  enough  that  he  should  be  troubled  by 
any  actual  evidence  that  an  attack  might  be  made 
upon  the  validity  of  his  land  deeds. 

Even  if  Turby  were  merely  searching  for  ore  in  the 
interests  of  some  one  who  desired  to  open  mines  on 
his  land,  Enoch  was  dissatisfied.  He  had  been  told 
years  before,  by  a  scientific  friend  of  Mr.  Stratford, 
that  there  was  no  probability  that  his  land  contained 
iron,  and  he  would  have  had  no  faith  in  the  value  of 
any  propositions  which  might  be  made  to  him  on  the 
subject. 

When  he  had  finished  his  dinner,  Enoch  put  on  his 
hat  and  went  out. 

"  Now,  if  you  meet  Mr.  Turby  ,v  said  Mrs.  People, 
"  don't  you  bother  him.  If  he  can  find  any  thin'  that's 
worth  havin'  on  this  place,  I'm  sure  I'd  like  to  see 
him  do  it !  I  always  told  you,  Enoch,  that  you  took 
the  poorest  farm,  and  let  Mr.  People  have  the  one 


310  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

that  was  ever  so  much  better.  Of  course  I  was  glad 
enough  of  that  at  the  time,  but  if  you'd  been  a  little 
sharper,  you'd  got  the  best  farm,  and  you  and  me 
would  have  been  livin'  on  it  now,  and  that  Stull  man 
would  have  had  this  dried-up  place.  Mr.  People  was 
very  sharp." 

Enoch  said  nothing  about  his  having  preferred  a 
farm  for  which  he  felt  he  could  pay,  leaving  to  his 
brother-in-law  the  larger  one  for  which  it  would  be 
very  difficult  to  pay,  and  went  out  over  the  fields.  He 
walked  straight  to  the  spot  where  Turby  had  been 
digging,  and  stood  and  looked  at  it,  and  with  a  sharp- 
pointed  stone  he  began  to  turn  up  the  loose  soil. 
When  he  had  scratched  out  the  most  of  it,  he  looked 
into  the  bottom  of  the  hole. 

"It  may  be,"  thought  he,  "that  that  rocky  stuff 
has  got  some  iron  in  it ;  and,  at  any  rate,  Fm  dead 
sure  that  old  Zenas  is  goin'  to  bring  somebody  here 
to  look  at  it." 

Mr.  Bullripple,  in  a  reflective  mood,  stood  kicking 
the  loose  earth  and  stones  back  into  the  hole.  Then 
he  suddenly  pulled  his  soft  felt  hat  down  over  his 
right  brow.  A  broad  grin  illumined  his  countenance, 
and  with  rapid  steps  he  started  for  home.  In  about 
half  an  hour  he  returned,  pushing  before  him  a  heav- 
ily loaded  wheelbarrow.  When  he  reached  the  little 
pile  of  stones,  he  took  from  the  barrow  a  spade  and 
a  pickaxe,  and  began  vigorously  to  deepen  the  hole 
which  Mr.  Turby  had  made,  throwing  most  of  the 
excavated  soil  into  the  wheelbarrow,  which  had  been 
emptied  of  all  its  contents.  When  the  hole  was  deep 
enough,  he  nearly  filled  it  with  said  contents,  and  then, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  311 

throwing  in  some  soil,  he  smoothed  up  the  place  and 
made  it  look  very  much  as  it  had  done  when  Turby 
left  it.  Then  Enoch  took  away  his  tools  and  his  bar- 
row, dumping  the  soil  the  latter  contained  into  a  hol- 
low at  some  little  distance,  and  returned  to  his  house. 

All  that  afternoon,  no  matter  what  else  he  might 
be  doing,  Mr.  Bullripple  kept  an  eye  on  the  spot 
where  he  and  Mr.  Turby  had  been  working.  Nobody 
came  to  it,  however,  and  the  next  morning  he  found 
himself  obliged  to  go  to  the  village.  He  left  the  spot 
in  question  in  charge  of  his  sister,  telling  her  that  if, 
during  his  absence,  she  saw  anybody  go  there  to  dig, 
she  must  put  on  her  bonnet  and  hurry  over  there  to 
see  what  they  got  out  of  the  ground.  As  Mrs.  Peo- 
ple always  possessed  a  lively  curiosity  to  know  what 
people  might  get  out  of  the  ground,  or  out  of  any- 
thing else,  she  willingly  accepted  this  charge. 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  arrived  at  the  Cherry  Bridge 
tavern,  he  found  there  Zenas  Turby,  who  was  osten- 
sibly visiting  the  village  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
some  debts. 

"How  d'ye  do,  Turby?"  said  Enoch.  "Still  keepin' 
up  your  right,  I  see,  to  the  name  of  *  Old  Scratch  ! ' " 

"  What  do  you  mean  1 "  asked  the  other. 

"  I  mean,"  said  Enoch,  "  that  you're  still  goin' 
round,  scratchin'  up  people's  land  to  see  what's  under 
the  grass.  I  do  sometimes  think  that  the  ground- 
hogs must  owe  you  somethin'  and  that  you're  tryin' 
to  levy  on  'em." 

As  usual  there  were  several  village  loungers  in  the 
room,  and  among  these  it  was  quite  natural  that 
Enoch's  remark  should  raise  a  laugh. 


312  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  Humph  !  "  growled  Turby.  "  When  I  get  any- 
body levied  on  either  for  not  payin'  what  he  owes,  or 
else  for  holdin'  what  he  don't  own,  it  isn't  goin'  to  be 
a  ground-hog,  mind,  I  tell  you." 

"  Now,  look  here,  Zenas,"  said  Mr.  Bullripple,  seat- 
ing himself  astride  of  a  chair  with  his  arms  over 
its  back,  "it  does  make  me  laugh  to  see  you  come 
huntin'  and  grubbin'  about  my  land  to  find  iron  ore 
when  everybody  knows  there  isn't  any  there." 

"  Confound  your  land !  "  said  Turby.  "  What  do  I 
care  about  it  ?  "  And  taking  his  big  cane  in  his  hand, 
he  rose  to  depart. 

"  Care  about  it ! "  shouted  Enoch  in  a  tone  which 
arrested  the  steps  of  the  collector.  "  I  should  say 
you  cared  lots  about  it.  Perhaps  you  will  hardly 
believe  me/7  he  said,  turning  round  to  the  company, 
"  but  it's  as  true  as  preachin'  that  I  saw  Zenas  Turby 
yesterday  diggin'  away  in  one  of  my  fields  as  if  he 
was  after  a  gold  mine.  Now,  I  believe  it's  nothin' 
but  contrariness  that  makes  him  do  that.  I've  told 
him,  over  and  over  again,  that  there  ain't  no  ore 
there,  and  jus'  to  prove  that  I  am  wrong,  he's  tryin' 
to  find  it ;  but  he's  found  himself  to  be  the  worst  mis- 
took man  in  this  county,  in  spite  of  all  he  says  he 
knows  about  mines  and  ores,  and  that  sort  or  thing." 

Mr.  Turby's  rugged  face  was  turned  severely  upon 
Enoch.  "Mistook,  eh!"  he  growled.  "That's  all 
you  know  about  it !  I  don't  mind  sayin'  that  I  make 
it  my  business  to  know  what  sort  of  land  there  is  in 
every  part  of  this  county,  and  I  don't  make  no  mis- 
takes nuther.  And,  to  prove  it,  I  say  there  is  iron  on 
Enoch  Bullripple's  place.  I  don't  say  there's  enough 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  313 

of  it  to  make  the  land  worth  anything,  which  every- 
body knows  it  isn't  now;  but  it's  there,  for  all 
that." 

Enoch  laughed  derisively.  "  It  is  easy  enough  to 
say  that/7  he  cried,  "but  you  couldn't  show  me  a  piece 
of  ore  on  my  land  as  big  as  a  hickory-nut.  I  dare  you 
to  do  it." 

Enoch's  contemptuous  tone  was  very  irritating  to 
Mr.  Turby. 

"  Now,  to  show  you  and  the  rest  of  these  people 
what  sort  of  fool  you  are,  Enoch  Bullripple,  Fll  jus' 
take  you  over  to  your  own  farm  and  let  you  see  the 
ore  that  you  haven't  got  sense  enough  to  know  is  there 
till  I  come  to  p'int  it  out  to  you.  And  anybody  can  come 
along  that  chooses." 

"  All  right !  "  said  Enoch.  "  If  you  want  a  chance 
to  show  what  you  don't  know,  Fm  ready  to  give  it 
to  you."  And  he  went  out  to  his  horse. 

Mr.  Turby's  sulky  was  tied  near  by,  and  the  tavern 
loungers  did  not  mind  a  walk  of  a  mile  or  so  to  find 
out  which  was  the  fool,  Zenas  Turby  or  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple.  Enoch  called  upon  Pat,  the  stable-man,  to 
come  along  and  bring  a  spade  and  pickaxe,  for  he  did 
not  wish,  he  said,  that  Mr.  Turby  should  fail  in  his 
search  because  his  own  little  pick  would  not  grub 
deep  enough. 

The  party  proceeded  by  the  road  for  a  considerable 
distance,  and  then  they  tied  their  horses  to  a  fence 
and  went  over  the  fields  until  they  came  to  the  spot 
where  Zenas  had  been  digging. 

"  There's  iron  ore  here,"  he  said,  "  for  I  found  it 
myself  just  about  this  spot." 
27 


314  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"You  have  a  great  eye  for  spots/'  said  Enoch, 
assuming  to  take  no  notice  of  the  little  pile  of  stones, 
"  and  you  can  dig  here  jus'  as  well  as  anywhere,  for 
you  won't  find  nothin'." 

"We'll  see  about  that,"  said  Zenas.  "You  can  begin 
there,"  turning  to  Pat  and  pointing  to  the  place  where 
the  soil  had  been  disturbed. 

Pat  made  a  blow  with  his  pick,  and  scattered  some 
loose  dirt  and  stones  j  then  again  he  brought  down 
the  heavy  implement,  and  its  point  penetrated  to 
some  distance  into  the  earth,  where  it  appeared  to 
fasten  itself.  The  stout  Pat  gave  a  dexterous  double- 
twist  and  jerked  it  out,  and  lo  !  upon  its  point  there 
hung  an  old  and  somewhat  rusty  flat-iron ! 

Everybody  started  with  surprise,  and  then  there 
was  a  yell  of  laughter. 

"  Upon  my  word  !  "  shouted  Enoch,  "  my  sile  has 
got  iron  in  it,  after  all !  Go  ahead,  Pat !  " 

The  laughing  Irishman  went  ahead  with  right  good 
will,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  brought  out  of  the  hole 
a  piece  of  old  chain,  two  or  three  horseshoes,  and  sev- 
eral pieces  of  broken  stove-pipe. 

Everybody  was  in  a  roar  of  delight  except  Mr. 
Turby,  who  stood  purple-red  and  furious.  "  I'll  pay 
you  for  this,  you  Bullripple!"  he  said,  shaking  his 
fist  at  his  old  enemy.  And  without  another  word,  he 
marched  away. 

If  his  anger  had  not  dulled  his  usually  sharp  wits, 
he  might  have  stopped  long  enough  to  show  that 
really  there  was  iron  in  the  soil.  But  the  boisterous 
derision  of  the  little  party  made  him  forget  every- 
thing else. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  316 

"  Good-bye,  Zenas/'  shouted  Enoch  after  him.  "I'll 
give  in  that  you  are  right  and  I  am  wrong.  Nobody 
can  say  now  that  there  ain't  no  iron  on  my  land,  for 
you've  come  here  yourself  and  p'inted  it  out.v 

And  a  fresh  burst  of  laughter  followed  the  retreat- 
ing Turby. 

Enoch  now  related  with  much  glee  how  he  had 
planned  out  and  created  this  novel  mineral  deposit ; 
how  he  had  gone  to  the  village  in  the  hope  that  he 
could  find  Turby  and  stir  him  up  to  come  and  get 
himself  caught  in  this  trap.  And  then  the  jubilant 
little  company  departed,  to  tell  to  whomsoever  they 
could  find  to  listen  this  capital  joke  upon  an  old  cur- 
mudgeon whom  nobody  liked. 

"Ef  iver  he  ses  oiurn  ore  agin,"  said  the  jovial 
Pat,  "  it's  shure  there'll  be  somebody  to  fetch  him  a 
bit  of  a  sthove-poipe,  and  axin  him  ef  that's  the  sort 
he's  afther." 

The  first  person  to  whom  Enoch  had  the  chance  to 
tell  the  tale  was  his  sister,  whom  he  met  as  he  was 
leading  his  horse  homeward  across  the  fields.  Mrs. 
People  had  seen  the  men  on  the  hill,  and,  true  to  her 
promise  and  her  curiosity,  had  hurried  oft0  to  find  out 
what  they  were  going  to  dig  up.  Rapid  progress  was 
impossible  for  her,  and  she  did  not  arrive  in  time; 
but  Enoch's  story  so  warmed  her  with  delight  that 
the  clouds  and  fogs  that  had  come  up  on  account  of 
the  Matilda  Stull  disappointment  melted  and  vanished 
away,  and  the  disposition  of  Mrs.  People  again  dwelt 
under  its  naturally  sunny  sky. 

Mr.  Turby  drove  directly  home  to  his  county 
town,  and  on  the  way  he  turned  over  this  matter  in 


316  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

his  mind.  He  had  made  a  blunder  in  allowing  to 
slip  from  him  in  his  anger  the  admission  that  he  had 
found  iron  ore  on  the  Bullripple  farm.  But,  after 
all,  the  case  was  not  as  bad  as  it  might  be.  The  re- 
sult of  "the  joke  would  be  to  cause  those  giggling 
fools  to  believe  that  there  was  no  ore  there,  and  that 
suited  him  exactly.  But  he  would  make  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple  pay  for  his  trick ;  and  the  first  stroke  in  this 
present  labor  of  hate  would  be  to  write  to  Mr.  Stull 
and  inform  him  that,  having  made  renewed  investi- 
gations on  the  Bullripple  farm,  he  had  found  large 
deposits  of  iron. 

"  If  that  stirs  him  up,"  said  Mr.  Turby  to  himself, 
"  to  start  out  fresh  ag^in  after  that  land,  he's  the  man 
to  git  it.  And  when  he's  got  it,  it'll  be  my  turn  to 
do  the  grinnin' ! » 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


HEN  Horace  Stratford  returned 
from  the  sea-shore  to  his  summer 
home  on  the  Bullripple  farm,  his 
mind  was  in  a  state  of  uncertainty 
which  was  not  usual  to  it.  This 
was  occasioned  by  doubts  in  regard 
to  the  proper  conduct  of  his  rela- 
tions with  G-ay  Armatt.  Everything  was  now  very 
different  from  what  it  had  been.  In  his  former  inter- 
course with  her  the  two  had  been  separated  by  a 
barrier  which  protected  them  both,  and,  while  it  sepa- 
rated them,  actually  gave  them  a  sense  of  freedom  in 
their  social  relations  which  they  could  not  have  felt 
had  they  not  always  been  able  to  see  that  the  engage- 
ment with  Crisman  stood  between  them.  That  barrier 
no  longer  existed,  and  Stratford  could  not  but  ask 
himself  if  Gay  and  he  could  continue  to  move  in 
close  parallel  lines  without  a  bar  between  them. 
Would  not  their  lines  be  ever  liable  to  meet  ?  Would 
not  the  world  wonder  if  they  did  not  meet  ?  Would 
not  Gay  herself  wonder  ? 

But  he  was  not  at  all  willing  to  create  an  effectual 
barrier  of  space  by  removing  his  line  to  a  great  and 
safe  distance  from  that  of  Gay.  He  knew  nothing  of 
the  new  bonds  into  which  Crisman  had  entered,  and 

317 


318  THE  HUNDEEDTH  MAN. 

he  had  not  that  faith  in  the  absolute  sundering  of  the 
mans  relations  with  Gay  which  he  would  have  liked 
to  have.  If  the  two  should  come  together, —  the  one 
a  little  lonely,  still  loyal  as  far  as  principle  could  go, 
and  always  apt  to  be  tender-hearted,  and  the  other 
repentant  of  his  brutal  folly  and  with  renewed  desire 
to  possess  that  treasure  on  which  he  had  turned  his 
back, —  Stratford  would  be  very  fearful  of  the  conse- 
quences. And  if  those  consequences  should  be  a  re- 
engagement,  the  last  condition  of  Gay  would  be  far 
worse  than  the  first,  for  she  would  take  a  man  whom 
she  knew  to  be  unworthy  of  her,  and  this  step  would 
give  his  unworthiness  peculiar  advantages  in  their 
future  life. 

Looking  at  the  matter  in  this  light,  it  was  plain 
enough  that  Gay  should  not  be  left  to  feel  the  want 
of  that  companionship  to  which  she  had  been  accus- 
tomed during  this  bright  summer,  and  to  miss  that 
support  and  stimulation  which  Stratford  had  given 
her  almost  ever  since  he  had  known  her,  and  which, 
in  his  opinion,  had  been  productive  of  such  good  re- 
sults. He  could  not  forget  that  the  devil  finds  some 
mischief  still  for  idle  minds  as  well  as  for  idle  hands, 
and  he  wished  that  Gay's  mind  should  be  worthily 
and  industriously  engaged  with  something  which 
should  not  be  Crisman. 

If  Stratford  had  been  asked  why  he  had  not  before 
considered  the  possibility  of  this  dilemma,  he  would 
have  answered  that  the  present  state  of  affairs  came 
about  much  more  suddenly  than  he  had  expected. 
He  had  believed  that  Gay  would  gradually  be  led  to 
see  her  false  position,  and  as  the  problems  of  the  case 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  319 

formed  themselves,  the  solutions  would  also  appear. 
But  now  there  was  no  time  for  the  natural  growth  of 
solutions.  They  must  be  artificially  constructed,  and 
Stratford  felt  the  task  a  very  difficult  one.  If  he 
could  have  been  taken  into  the  confidence  of  Miss 
Matilda  Stull,  his  mind  would  have  been  very  much 
easier. 

In  this  mental  condition  Stratford  went  to  visit 
Mrs.  Justin,  and  when  he  had  been  ten  minutes  in 
the  company  of  Gray,  all  his  doubts  and  uncertainties 
regarding  his  proper  course  of  action  were  dissipated. 
This  was  in  consequence,  first,  of  the  girl's  demeanor, 
for  she  met  him  with  the  same  frank  and  earnest 
friendliness  which  she  had  shown  to  him  on  the  last 
day  they  had  met.  "  She  has  not  changed  in  regard 
to  me,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  and  why  should  I  change 
in  regard  to  her  ? " 

In  the  second  place,  Stratford  was  affected  by 
Gay's  appearance.  There  was  something  of  sadness 
about  her,  and  while  he  could  not  determine  exactly 
how  this  sadness  showed  itself,  he  could  see  that  it 
was  there.  She  had  lost  none  of  her  bloom,  her  fresh- 
ness, or  her  beauty ;  but,  apart  from  her  friendliness 
and  her  delight  in  meeting  him  again,  she  was  not 
exactly  the  same  Gay. 

"  Poor  child ! "  thought  Stratford,  "  she  has  been 
touched  more  deeply  than  I  supposed,  and  I  must  do 
what  I  can  for  her." 

Therefore  it  was  that  the  next  morning  the  old 
readings  were  recommenced  on  the  piazza  ;  and  there- 
fore it  was  that  on  many  days  afterwards  Stratford 
staid  to  luncheon,  and  often  to  dinner  j  and  that  the 


320  THE  HUNDEEDTH  MAN. 

beautiful  country  freely  yielded  its  pleasures,  some- 
times to  the  three  of  them,  and  sometimes  to  the  two. 
Stratford  was  very  anxious  to  see  the  full  joyousness 
of  Gay's  nature  assert  itself.  He  thought  it  due  to 
her  character  that  there  should  disappear  from  her 
demeanor  as  soon  as  possible  all  vestige  of  regret  for 
a  step  which  her  own  good  sense  and  high  honor  had 
impelled  her  to  take.  He  knew  nothing  of  that  second 
blow,  that  revelation  of  the  fact  that  not  only  had  she 
no  lover,  but  that  she  never  had  had  a  lover.  To  be 
affianced  now  to  Matilda  Stull,  Crisman  must  always 
have  been  false  to  her.  So  thought  Gay  Armatt. 

The  full  joyousness  did  not  appear,  but  Gay  entered 
with  great  earnestness  and  hearty  good  will  into 
everything  that  Stratford  proposed,  whether  it  were 
study  or  pleasure.  She  had  not  known  before  how 
much  restraint  she  had  been  used  to  put  upon  herself 
in  her  intercourse  with  this  friend.  She  now  knew 
that  not  only  had  there  been  a  good  deal  of  restraint, 
but  that  it  had  all  disappeared.  As  the  days  passed 
on,  she  became  Stratford's  disciple.  No  one  ever 
more  thoroughly  believed  in  a  master  than  she  be- 
lieved in  him. 

With  the  exceedingly  friendly  intimacy  which  re- 
sulted from  all  this,  Mrs.  Justin  did  not  interfere.  She 
had  thought  Stratford's  course  wrong  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  she  thought  it  wrong  now.  She  did  not 
believe  it  was  right  in  a  man  who  had  just  broken  off 
a  match  to  step  forward  so  promptly  to  turn  the  rupt- 
ure to  his  own  advantage.  And  yet  she  could  not 
deny  to  herself  that  no  greater  good  could  have  hap- 
pened to  Gay  than  her  delivery  from  Crisman.  And 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  321 

neither  could  she  believe  that  any  possible  good  could 
now  come  to  the  girl  which  would  be  greater  than  a 
marriage  with  Stratford.  She  had  opposed  that  which 
she  believed  to  be  evil  which  was  being  done  that 
good  might  come  of  it,  and  the  good  had  come  in  spite 
of  her  opposition.  She  now  considered  that  she  had 
done  enough.  She  would  oppose  no  more. 

It  was  on  a  warm  morning,  well  forward  in  August, 
that  Stratford  was  very  much  surprised  by  a  visit 
from  Arthur  Thorne.  It  was  such  an  unusual,  in  fact 
such  an  unheard-of  thing  for  Thorne  to  make  a  visit 
without  either  being  invited  or  announcing  his  inten- 
tion, that  Stratford  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  his 
astonishment  when  he  met  his  friend. 

"  I  thought  you  would  be  somewhat  amazed,"  said 
Mr.  Thorne,  as  he  took  a  seat  on  the  Bullripple  porch 
and  fanned  himself  with  his  straw  hat,  "  but  I  didn't 
suppose  your  emotion  would  really  injure  your  con- 
stitution, and  as  I  wanted  to  come,  I  came.  I'll  tell 
you  all  about  it  as  soon  as  I  am  a  little  cooled  off." 

In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Thorne  became  more  com- 
fortable, and  then  he  settled  himself  back  in  the 
big  wooden  arm-chair,  and  asked  his  friend  for  a 
pipe. 

"  A  pipe  !  "  exclaimed  Stratford.  lt  You  don't  mean 
to  say  you  smoke  ! " 

"  Yes,  I  do,"  said  Thorne.  "  Why  shouldn't  I  smoke  ? 
In  fact,  I  like  to  smoke.  The  family  don't  object  to  it 
out  here,  do  they  ?  " 

"  Of  course  nobody  objects  to  it,"  said  the  other, 
"  but  I  must  admit  that  I  am  surprised  to  find  that 
you  want  to  smoke,  and  especially  a  pipe." 


322  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Stratford  brought  the  pipe  and  one  for  himself,  and 
the  two  friends  composed  themselves  for  a  chat. 

"  I  can  talk  so  much  better  when  I  am  smoking," 
said  Arthur. 

"  That  is  a  new  thing,  isn't  it  ? "  remarked  Strat- 
ford. 

"Rather  newish,"  said  his  friend.  "And  indeed 
there  seems  to  be  a  tendency  towards  newishness  with 
me.  Now,  I  am  well  aware  that  it  isn't  proper  for 
me  to  come  here  without  knowing  whether  you  want 
me  or  not,  or  even  writing  to  let  you  know  I  intended 
to  do  it.  But  I  took  it  into  my  head  to  come,  and  here 
I  am.  If  it  is  not  entirely  convenient  for  you  to  have 
me,  I  can  go  to  the  tavern  in  the  village.  I  dare  say 
it  is  a  very  good  tavern." 

"  Convenient !  "  said  Stratford.  "  Of  course  it  is 
entirely  convenient.  Here  is  the  room  which  you  had 
before,  all  ready  for  you?' 

"  That  is  very  good  of  you,"  said  Thorne,  "  and  I 
don't  mind  in  the  least  telling  you  why  I  came  down 
here,  or  up,  whichever  it  is.  It  is  all  on  account  of 
Miss  Armatt.  I  never  had  anything  take  possession 
of  me  as  that  girl  has !  I  have  tried  to  be  proper 
about  it,  but  it's  of  no  use.  In  fact,  I  am  tired  of 
being  proper.  It  doesn't  pay.  Sometimes  it  makes 
me  sick  to  see  everything  straight  and  proper  about 
me,  for  I  am  just  the  other  way  myself.  I  have 
worked  hard  at  one  thing  and  I  have  worked  hard  at 
another  ;  that  doesn't  help  me  at  all ;  I  am  thinking 
of  her  all  the  time. — Then  I  sat  down,  and  said  to 
myself :  '  This  trying  to  do  the  right  thing  is  all  stuff 
and  nonsense.  There  is  Stratford  j  he  doesn't  trouble 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  323 

himself  about  anything  of  the  sort,  and  he  is  happy. 
If  he  likes  a  girl,  he  makes  himself  agreeable  to  her, 
he  spends  his  time  with  her,  and  he  carries  out  his 
theories.  It  doesn't  make  any  difference  to  him  that 
she  is  engaged  to  be  married  to  some  one  else,  and 
why  should  it  make  a  difference  to  me  ?  I  cannot 
expect  to  make  myself  agreeable  to  her,  nor  to  spend 
my  time  with  her,  and  I  have  no  theories  to  carry 
out,  but  I  can  go  there  and  look  at  her  again.'  And 
that  I  determined  to  do.  Now,  I  know  very  well  that 
even  this  is  not  right ;  that  it  is  unjust  to  myself,  and 
unjust  to  the  man  who  is  engaged  to  Miss  Armatt. 
But,  as  I  said  before,  I  am  tired  of  doing  right.  That 
sort  of  thing  doesn't  help  me  any.  It  simply  gives 
me  the  worst  of  everything  and  puts  me  in  the  back- 
ground ;  and  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  drop  it.  Of 
course  this  is  all  very  astonishing  to  you,  Stratford, 
but  I  determined  to  be  quite  frank  and  open  with 
you,  and  let  you  see  everything  just  as  it  stands." 

Stratford  drew  a  long  breath.  "  I  wish  to  be  per- 
fectly frank  and  open  with  you?  he  said,  "  and  there- 
fore deem  it  my  duty  to  tell  you  that  Miss  Armatt  is 
not  under  promise  to  marry  any  one.  Her  engage- 
ment with  Mr.  Crisman  has  been  broken  off." 

"Good  Heavens !"  exclaimed  Thorne,  springing  up 
so  suddenly  that  his  chair  fell  backward  on  the  porch. 


CHAPTER  XXVH 

HEN  Arthur  Thorne  jumped  up  so 
suddenly  on  hearing  the  surprising 
announcement  that  Gay  Armatt 
was  not  engaged  to  be  married  to 
any  one,  the  noise  made  by  his 
falling  chair  brought  Mrs.  People 
hurrying  to  the  porch. 
"  Oh,  how  do  you  do,  Mr.  Thorne  f "  she  exclaimed. 
"  I  hadn't  the  least  notion  in  the  world  that  you  was 
here,  and  if  you've  been  trying  to  tilt  back  in  that 
chair  I  wonder  you  didn't  break  your  neck !  The  hind 
legs  is  too  straight  up  and  down.  I'm  very  glad  to 
see  you  here  again,  though  Mr.  Stratford  never  told 
me  a  word  of  your  comin',  and  I'll  have  your  room 
ready  for  you  in  ten  minutes." 

To  these  remarks  Mr.  Thorne  made  no  reply,  but 
stood  looking  at  Stratford.  He  was  a  man  notable 
for  his  courteous  manners  to  every  one,  but  his  mind 
was  so  completely  occupied  with  what  he  had  just 
heard  that  he  scarcely  noticed  that  Mrs.  People  was 
talking  to  him. 

After  a  very  searching  gaze  directed  upon  Mr. 
Thorne,  that  good  woman  stepped  inside  the  front 
door,  and  beckoned  to  Stratford.  The  latter  excused 
himself  to  his  visitor,  who  was  still  standing  in  blank 

324 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  325 

staring  astonishment,  and  went  into  the  house.  He 
was  very  glad  to  do  so,  for  conversation  with  Thorne 
in  his  present  state  of  mind,  and  with  Mrs.  People 
near  by,  was  not  to  be  desired. 

Mrs.  People  conducted  Stratford  into  an  inner 
room,  and  closed  the  door.  "  If  I  was  you,"  she  said, 
quickly,  "  I'd  take  him  upstairs  jus'  as  soon  as  I've 
put  on  the  clean  sheets  and  pillow-cases,  and  I'd  have 
him  in  bed  before  his  chill  comes  on.  Of  course  he 
brought  it  with  him,  for  there's  nothin'  of  the  kind 
here,  but  this  mountain  air  often  does  bring  'em  out 
dreadful  sudden,  when  the  system  is  full  of  malari- 
ousness.  It  won't  do  to  give  him  any  quinine  till  he's 
got  through  with  his  fever,  and  Pm  no  hand  to  be 
recoinmendin'  mustard-plasters  and  hot  foot-soaks 
before  there's  any  real  reason  for  usin'  'em  j  but  what 
I'll  make  for  him,  and  bring  it  up  to  his  room  almost 
as  soon  as  you've  got  him  tucked  in  comfortable,  is  a 
big  bowl  of  hot  quassia  tea.  Mr.  People,  when  he 
was  livin',  used  to  say  that  there  was  nothin'  that 
suited  more  of  the  different  chronic  things  that  he 
was  afflicted  with  than  quassia  tea.  It's  bein?  such  a 
good  honest  bitter  is  one  of  its  strong  p'ints,  and  Mr. 
People  has  told  me  often,  when  he  took  it  for  some  of 
his  more  triflin'  complaints,  that  he  forgot  he  had 
anythin'  the  matter  with  him  but  a  taste  in  his 
mouth.  So  I'll  put  the  quassia  on  to  draw,  and  then 
I'll  take  Maria  right  up  to  his  room,  and  we'll  get  it 
ready." 

Stratford  did  not  interrupt  Mrs.  People  in  these 
remarks,  for  they  amused  him,  and  he  was  very  will- 
ing, moreover,  not  only  to  give  his  friend  time  to 
28 


326  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

somewhat  tranquilize  his  mind,  but  to  get  an  opportu- 
nity to  arrange  his  own  ideas.  But  he  now  told  Mrs. 
People  that  Mr.  Thorne  needed  no  medicine  whatever, 
but  was  merely  a  little  disturbed  in  his  mind  by  some- 
thing that  had  occurred. 

"  Disturbed  !  I  should  think ! "  said  the  kind-hearted 
woman.  "  And  if  he's  lost  all  his  money  I  hope  you'll 
tell  him,  Mr.  Stratford,  that  as  long  as  he's  a  friend 
of  yours  there's  always  a  room  for  him  here,  and  the 
board  may  run  on  for  a  year,  if  he  likes." 

Stratford  thanked  her,  and  went  out  to  meet  his 
friend.  "  Let  us  go  under  that  big  tree,"  he  said, 
"  where  we  can  talk  more  at  our  ease." 

When  they  reached  the  big  tree  Stratford  took  a 
seat,  motioning  his  friend  to  another;  but  Thorne 
remained  standing.  "  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  said 
he,  "  that  Miss  Armatt  is  perfectly  free  and  disen- 
gaged I " 

"  Yes,"  said  Stratford,  "  that  is  what  I  said." 

"  Well,  then,"  asked  Thorne,  "  what  reason  is  there 
why  I  should  not  pay  my  addresses  to  her  ?  " 

"  There  are  two  very  strong  reasons,"  said  Strat- 
ford. lt  One  is  that  it  would  be  heartless  in  any  one 
to  address  a  girl  whose  sensitive  nature  has  just  re- 
ceived a  very  severe  shock  in  the  breaking  off  of  an 
engagement;  and  in  the  second  place  it  would  be 
very  bad  policy  both  as  regards  Miss  Armatt  and 
yourself.  But  from  what  I  know  it  is  not  at  all  cer- 
tain that  Crisman  has  lost  all  his  chances.  Were  he 
to  repent  and  return,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  do  this  if  he  is  not  an  absolute  ass,  I 
should  be  very  much  afraid  of  the  result.  With  a 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  327 

girl  of  Miss  Armattfs  principles  it  would  be  much 
easier  to  renew  a  former  engagement  than  to  make  a 
fresh  one.  Any  attempt  now  to  enlist  her  affections 
would  throw  her  mind  into  such  disturbance  that, 
were  that  man  to  return,  he  would  find  her  troubled 
mental  condition  greatly  to  his  advantage." 

Thorne  snapped  his  fingers  impatiently.  "  For  these 
reasons,"  he  said,  "  I  suppose  you  are  now  keeping 
away  from  her." 

"  The  reasons  have  nothing  to  do  with  me,"  said 
Stratford.  "As  you  very  well  know,  I  have  no  inten- 
tion of  addressing  her,  and  my  object  is,  as  it  has 
been,  to  bring  her  mind  into  such  a  condition  that 
the  element  of  regard  for  Crisman  must  necessarily 
be  eliminated  from  it." 

Thorne  stood  for  some  moments  steadily  gazing  at 
his  friend.  Then  he  said :  "  Stratford,  that  may  all  be 
very  well,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  I  am  the  one  who 
should  undertake  the  task  of  encouraging  and  help- 
ing this  young  girl  in  the  way  you  speak  of.  I  have 
an  object  in  it,  which  you  say  you  have  not.  I  have 
heard  you  speak  of  carrying  her  over  the  gap  which 
the  success  of  your  plans  might  create.  Very  well, 
then,  let  me  carry  her  over.  I  shall  not  drop  her  on 
the  other  side,  as  you  say  you  intend  to  do." 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  Stratford,  with  a  smile,  "  you 
could  not  do  it.  You  do  not  know  her,  and  she  does 
not  know  you.  In  many  respects  you  are  strangers  to 
each  other,  and  i^  will  be  utterly  impossible  for  her 
to  have  that  confidence  in  you,  and  I  may  say  that 
regard  for  you,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  in  this 
case.  It  would  be  impertinent,  and  utterly  unjusti- 


328  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

fiable,  for  me  or  any  one  else  to  attempt  to  arrange 
Miss  Armatt's  future  for  her.  I  have  simply  endeav- 
ored to  avert  from  her  an  evil  which  she  did  not 
understand,  and  I  hope  I  have  succeeded.  With  any- 
thing further  than  that  I  have  nothing  to  do ;  but  I 
will  say,  as  I  have  said  before,  that  it  would  delight 
me  very  much  to  see  her  married  to  such  a  man  as 
you.  And,  by  the  way,  I  wish  you  would  sit  down." 

Mr.  Thorne  did  not  move.  "  Stratford,"  said  he, 
"you  are  very  difficult  to  understand,  and  I  don't 
pretend  to  be  able  to  do  it ;  but  you  have  said  two 
things  with  which  I  agree.  One  is  that  it  would  be 
wrong  to  address  the  lady  openly  at  this  time  ;  and 
the  other  is  that  my  comparatively  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  her  places  me  under  a  very  great  disadvan- 
tage. This  I  shall  endeavor  as  soon  as  possible  to 
remove.  I  shall  try  to  know  her,  and  let  her  know 
me.  I  came  into  these  parts  solely  to  see  her ;  I  shall 
remain  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  her;  that  is  all;  and  I  shall  do  no 
more  until  the  proper  time  comes.  It  is  a. good  first 
step,  and  I  am  glad  you  suggested  it  to  me." 

Stratford  did  not  immediately  reply,  but  presently 
he  said,  "  Then  I  am  to  have  you  here  with  me  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Thorne,  "  that  would  not  be  well.  You 
are  very  kind,  and  so  is  that  good  woman.  But  I 
shall  not  be  satisfied  to  stay  here.  I  shall  wish  to 
feel  perfectly  independent.  I  shall  go  to  the  hotel  in 
the  village.  There  is  one  there,  I  believe  ? " 

"  There  is  no  hotel,"  said  Stratford ;  "  there  is  noth- 
ing but  a  tavern,  and  I  am  sure  it  will  not  suit  you  at 
all.  It  will  be  much  better  for  you  to  stay  here." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  329 

"  You  are  very  good  indeed/'  said  Thorne,  "  but  I 
prefer  the  tavern.  I  left  some  baggage  at  the  station, 
and  I  will  have  it  sent  there.  Good-bye." 

Stratford  rose  and  took  his  extended  hand.  "  I  sup- 
pose I  shall  see  you  again,"  said  he. 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Thome.  "No  doubt  we  shall 
meet  often."  And  he  strode  away. 

"  He  don't  believe  in  me,"  thought  Stratford.  "And 
he  is  wonderfully  changed." 

The  next  day  Mr.  Thorne  made  a  formal  call  at 
Mrs.  Justin's  house.  He  saw  both  the  ladies,  and 
although  there  was  no  trace  of  the  fact  in  their 
manner,  neither  of  them  was  glad  to  see  him.  Gray 
thought  that  he  would  prove  an  interruption  to  the 
course  of  reading  that  she  and  Mr.  Stratford  were 
carrying  on  together ;  and  Mrs.  Justin  could  not  but 
imagine,  remembering  Mr.  Thome's  letter  to  her,  that 
in  some  way  he  had  heard  of  the  broken  engagement, 
and,  considering  the  field  open,  had  come  to  pay  his 
addresses  to  Gay.  Of  this  she  did  not  at  all  approve, 
for,  after  what  had  happened,  there  was  only  one  man 
she  favored  as  a  husband  for  her  young  friend.  She 
would  not  have  Gay  tossed  about  like  a  shuttlecock 
from  this  man  to  that. 

Mrs.  Justin  was  not  long  left  to  conjecture  upon 
this  subject.  Mr.  Thorne  took  an  early  opportunity 
of  speaking  to  her  privately.  He  informed  her  that 
his  feelings  and  aspirations  in  regard  to  Miss  Armatt 
remained  the  same  as  when  he  had  previously  com- 
municated with  her  by  letter;  and  that  having  re- 
cently heard  that  the  young  lady's  affections  were 
now  disengaged,  he  desired,  at  the  proper  time  and 


330  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

season,  to  endeavor  to  win  those  affections ;  but  that 
he  was  very  well  aware  that  any  such  attempt  would 
be  useless  and  reprehensible  at  present.  All  he  now 
wished  was  to  obtain  Mrs.  Justin's  consent,  as  the 
young  lady's  friend  and  guardian,  to  visit  her  and 
make  her  as  thoroughly  acquainted  with  him  as  pos- 
sible. Mrs.  Justin  might  feel  assured  that  more  than 
this  he  would  not  do  during  his  present  stay  in  the 
vicinity. 

To  all  this  Mrs.  Justin  could  make  no  outward 
objection,  although  she  did  not  like  it  at  all.  She 
knew  Mr.  Thorne  to  be  a  perfectly  honorable  man, 
and  therefore  felt  justified  in  inviting  him  to  visit  her 
frequently  during  his  stay;  but  she  gave  him  no 
encouragement  whatever,  stating  that  she  did  not 
feel  that  she  had  any  right  to  say  or  do  anything 
which  could  be  construed  to  affect  in  any  way  Miss 
Armattfs  prospects  of  the  kind  alluded  to. 

"  I  wished  to  make  my  object  and  intentions  plain 
to  you,  madam,"  said  Thorne,  "without  leaving  any- 
thing to  conjecture;  and  if,  after  hearing  me,  you 
permit  me  to  visit  your  house,  it  is  all  I  ask.'7 

"  He  is  too  horribly  correct,"  thought  Mrs.  Justin, 
when  Thorne  had  gone,  "  and  in  this  case  nothing 
could  be  worse  than  that,  for  it  gives  me  no  oppor- 
tunity to  oppose  him.77 

When  Mrs.  Justin  next  saw  Stratford  she  expressed 
her  impatience  with  this  visit  of  his  friend  Thorne. 
"  He  is  a  thoroughly  good  fellow,7'  she  said,  "  but  I 
do  not  want  him  to  interfere  with  you." 

"  Mrs.  Justin/'  said  Stratford,  his  brows  contract- 
ing as  he  spoke,  "  am  I  never  to  expect  to  be  believed 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  331 

by  you  regarding  my  intentions  towards  Gay  Ar- 
matt?" 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  believe  what  you  have  said  to  me 
about  them/7  she  answered,  "and  I  earnestly  hope 
that  you  will  say  nothing  more  of  the  kind.  You 
ought  to  marry  Gay  Armatt  for  your  own  sake,  for 
everybody's  sake,  but  above  all  for  her  sake.  It  would 
be  cruel,  positively  cruel,  for  you  to  drop  her  now." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  say  anything,"  said  Stratford, 
"which  might  give  rise  to  unpleasant  feelings  be- 
tween us,  but  I  will  merely  reassert,  entirely  for  my 
own  satisfaction,  that  I  do  not  intend  to  marry  Gay 
Armatt." 

"  I  should  be  grieved  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  if 
any  unpleasant  feelings  should  arise  between  us,  but 
I  will  say,  entirely  for  my  own  satisfaction,  that  you 
cannot  help  marrying  her." 

And  with  that  she  left  him. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

JHEN  the  alterations  at  Vatoldi's  had 
reached  that  stage  at  which  John 
People  could  personally  carry  out 
the  manifold  directions  and  plans 
of  Mr.  Stull,  the  work  went  on  rap- 
idly, and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
famous  restaurant,  greatly  enlarged, 
and  very  much  improved,  opened  its  doors  again  to 
the  public.  The  boycotting  campaign  having  come 
to  an  end,  it  was  very  easy  to  secure  a  corps  of 
trained  waiters,  nearly  all  the  old  ones  being  eager  to 
return  to  their  former  positions,  and  being  no  longer 
under  the  influence  of  the  contumacious  Bencher,  they 
were  perfectly  willing  to  renounce  all  aspirations  in 
the  direction  of  coat-tails. 

But  against  any  further  trouble  of  this  kind  Mr. 
Stull  had  fully  provided.  The  employees  were  all 
very  well  paid,  but  each  man  signed  a  printed  con- 
tract by  which  he  agreed  that  a  certain  percentage  of 
his  wages  should  be  held  back  and  forfeited  in  case 
of  dismissal  for  misconduct,  the  most  important 
breach  of  rule  being  any  attempt  to  redress  griev- 
ances by  other  means  than  those  stated  in  the  con- 
tract. Mr.  Stull  had  given  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
thought  to  the  construction  of  an  agreement  which, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  333 

while  it  offered  good  men  inducements  to  enter  his 
service,  would  make  it  a  losing  business  for  them  if 
they  attempted  to  interfere  with  his  methods  of  reg- 
ulating the  establishment.  All  these  arrangements, 
with  many  others  tending  to  place  Vatoldi's  on  a 
higher  pedestal  than  it  had  yet  stood  upon,  were 
carefully  carried  into  effect  by  John  People,  whose 
conferences  with  his  superior  not  only  took  place 
every  afternoon,  but  frequently  occupied  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  evening.  An  increase  of  custom  quickly 
greeted  the  reopening  of  the  restaurant,  and  Vatol- 
di's  soon  became  a  more  crowded  and  fashionable 
resort  than  it  had  ever  been  before. 

When  all  this  had  been  accomplished,  Mr.  Stull 
thought  himself  entitled  to  a  holiday,  and  repaired 
to  his  farm  near  Cherry  Bridge,  where  not  only  could 
he  take  some  country  air,  but  look  into  the  business 
with  which  Mr.  Turby  had  been  intrusted.  It  might 
seem  a  little  odd  to  those  who  were  not  well  ac- 
quainted with  Miss  Matilda  Stull  that  she  should 
have  chosen  the  time  of  her  father's  coming  for  a 
visit  of  herself  and  her  mother  to  the  city ;  but  Miss 
Matilda  never  allowed  the  coming  or  going  of  any 
one  to  interfere  with  her  plans ;  and,  although  she 
had  not  formed  this  plan  until  she  had  heard  of  her 
father's  intention,  she  declared  it  to  be  absolutely 
necessary  that  she  should  go  to  town  to  confer  with 
mantua-makers,  in  preparation  for  the  autumnal  sea- 
son. As  she  could  not  go  alone,  her  mother,  of 
course,  must  accompany  her. 

The  absence  of  his  wife  and  daughter  at  the  time 
of  his  arrival  at  his  farm  did  not  at  all  disturb  the 


334  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

mind  of  Mr.  Stull,  who,  having  come  to  the  country 
for  a  holiday,  was  not  averse  to  a  few  days7  freedom 
from  interruption  to  thought  and  action.  To  be  sure, 
his  two  younger  daughters  remained,  but  these  were 
little  girls  who  had  learned  how  pleasant  it  was  not 
to  interfere  with  their  father's  occupations. 

Mrs.  Stull  had  now  been  made  acquainted  with  her 
daughter's  engagement,  and  it  was,  therefore,  in  the 
handsome  rooms  of  the  Stull  city  mansion  that  Mr. 
Crisman  paid  his  frequent  visits  to  his  lady-love  dur- 
ing her  stay  in  town. 

John  People,  once  more  behind  his  cashier's  desk, 
and  behind,  indeed,  nearly  everything  else  in  the 
establishment,  deepened  the  lines  of  pensive  resigna- 
tion on  his  brow.  The  gentle  roll  in  his  gait  became 
more  than  ever  indicative  of  a  determination  to  go 
ahead  and  do  his  duty,  no  matter  how  much  care  and 
trouble  weighed  upon  him.  All  his  hopes  in  the  di- 
rection of  Miss  Stull  had  entirely  departed.  When 
Gay  Armatt  had  told  him  that  it  was  positively  use- 
less for  him  to  speak  a  word  of  love  to  Miss  Stull,  he 
had  gone  away  believing  her  absolutely  and  entirely. 
Of  a  truthful  nature  himself,  he  could  appreciate 
truth  when  it  was  told  to  him  by  such  a  girl  as  Gay, 
and  told  as  she  told  it.  He  had  come  to  town  fully 
convinced  that  Matilda  Stull  could  be  to  him  no  more 
than  an  occasional  customer  in  the  restaurant  over 
which  he  presided. 

He  took  from  an  inner  recess  of  his  pocket-book  a 
two-dollar  note,  in  the  corner  of  which  were  some 
initials  and  a  date ;  and  placing  this  in  the  money- 
drawer,  he  repaid  himself  with  two  dollars  in  silver. 
It  gave  him  a  sad  pleasure  a  few  minutes  afterwards 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  335 

to  give  this  note,  with  other  change,  to  a  lady  who 
was  paying  her  bill.  Thrown  into  the  vortex  of  met- 
ropolitan circulation,  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
he  would  ever  see  it  again.  Not  only  did  John  thus 
snap  asunder  the  only  actual  link  between  him  and 
Miss  Stull,  but,  like  the  practical  man  that  he  was, 
he  resolved,  if  possible,  to  teach  himself  that  he  must 
turn  away  from  looking  after  her ;  and  in  order  to 
do  this  he  must  learn  to  look  steadfastly  in  another 
direction.  Therefore  it  was  that  with  steadfast  heart 
and  resolute  eyes  he  looked  at  Miss  Burns. 

Miss  Burns  was  a  young  lady  who  stood  behind 
the  gentlemen's  furnishing-goods  counter  of  a  large 
dry- goods  store  directly  opposite  Vatoldi's.  John 
had  bought  cravats  and  gloves  of  her,  and  she,  in 
turn,  had  taken  many  a  meal  at  Vatoldi's.  There 
were  those  of  her  companions  who  asserted  that  she 
thus  sacrificed  economy  to  convenience,  because  there 
were  other  restaurants,  not  far  distant,  where  she 
could  have  been  served  more  cheaply.  Miss  Burns 
liked  Vatoldi's,  and  John  had  reason  to  believe  that 
she  also  liked  him,  for  in  the  two  years  during  which 
they  had  interchanged  patronage  he  had  found  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  making  himself  agreeable  to 
her,  and  she  had  shown  that  he  was  agreeable.  She 
was  a  girl  of  pleasant  appearance,  although  a  trifle 
over-thin;  but  John  liked  thin  girls,  and  until  his 
regard  for  Miss  Stull  began  to  crystallize  itself  into 
yearning,  his  occasional  intercourse  with  Miss  Burns 
had  been  exceedingly  pleasant  to  him.  But  for 
months  and  months  he  had  almost  forgotten  her. 
For  her  there  was  no  corner  in  the  refrigerator,  nor 
any  corner  in  his  heart. 


336  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

This  change  of  manner  had  been  noticed  by  Miss 
Burns,  and  for  some  time  before  the  troubles  began 
at  Vatoldi's  she  had  been  forced  to  admit  that  it 
would  have  been  quite  as  well  for  her  to  study  econ- 
omy at  the  expense  of  convenience  and  to  take  her  mid- 
day meal  at  the  restaurants  frequented  by  her  com- 
panions. But  lately  she  had  had  a  desire  to  view  the 
renewed  glories  of  Vatoldi's,  and  had  several  times 
visited  the  place.  John  had  noticed  her,  and  once 
had  spoken  to  her,  but  there  was  that  in  his  manner 
which  showed  the  young  woman  that  even  this  atten- 
tion she  owed  entirely  to  his  memory.  But,  as  has 
been  said,  John  had  come  to  the  determination  to  oc- 
cupy his  saddened  eyes  by  turning  them  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Miss  Burns. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  there  was  brought  to 
the  restaurant  a  quantity  of  very  choice  clams.  These 
were  of  such  unusually  attractive  appearance  that 
John  bethought  himself  of  exhibiting  some  of  them 
on  a  long  inclined  shelf  near  his  desk,  on  which  were 
occasionally  displayed  some  extraordinary  fine  speci- 
mens of  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl.  To  this  work  he  devoted 
some  comparatively  leisure  moments  of  the  morning. 
As  he  arranged  them  on  the  shelf,  his  meditative 
soul  began  to  influence  his  hands,  and  he  formed  the 
clams  into  letters,  and  gradually  into  words.  He  soon 
became  much  interested  in  his  work,  and  selecting 
the  smallest  of  the  shell-fish,  and  carefully  placing 
them,  he  formed  a  sentence  in  clams,  which,  in  large 
letters,  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  shelf.  It  read : 

"  Gone  are  all  the  hopes  I  cherished." 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  337 

Stepping  back,  John  gazed  at  his  work  with  much 
satisfaction,  and  several  of  the  waiters  remarked  upon 
it  with  approbation. 

"  You  might  have  a  new  piece  of  poetry  there  every 
day,"  said  one. 

John  smiled  sadly.  His  desire  for  poetic  selections 
was  now  very  limited. 

A  little  before  one  o'clock  that  day  there  entered 
into  Vatoldi's  Miss  Matilda  Stull.  She  was  shopping 
in  that  region,  and  she  wanted  her  luncheon.  She 
expected,  of  course,  that  she  would  see  John  People 
there,  but  that  made  no  difference  to  her ;  she  had  no 
intention  of  deserting  her  favorite  restaurant  because 
this  young  man  happened  to  be  the  manager  of  it. 
She  was  well  aware  that  she  had  led  him  by  a  very 
short  string  during  the  period  in  which  she  had 
hoped  to  make  use  of  him,  but  she  did  not  believe 
that  here,  in  his  place  of  business,  he  would  presume 
upon  that  familiar  intercourse  which  in  the  country 
is  allowed  among  persons  of  different  classes.  If, 
however,  anything  of  the  kind  should  occur,  she 
knew  well  how  to  treat  it ;  and  she  entered  Vatoldi's 
with  all  freedom  and  confidence. 

The  room  was  well  filled,  but  she  had  not  made 
three  steps  within  the  door  before  John  saw  her.  A 
thrill  went  through  him,  and  he  stooped  to  conceal 
the  consequences  of  it  which  appeared  in  his  face.  In 
a  moment,  however,  he  raised  himself,  and  went  on 
with  his  duties,  keeping  his  eyes  upon  the  work  before 
him.  He  did  not  dare  to  look  at  her,  for  fear  she 
would  not  recognize  him,  and  that  would  be  a  jagged 
wound.  It  would  be  better  for  her  to  think  he  had 
29 


338  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

not  seen  her.  At  any  rate  he  must  have  time  to  grasp 
the  situation, — a  very  unexpected  one  to  him,  for  he 
had  supposed  the  lady  to  be  in  the  country. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  he  found  it  impossible 
to  avoid  raising  his  eyes  in  her  direction,  and  as  he 
did  so  he  met  her  glance.  With  a  very  slight  smile 
which  bore  no  sign  of  friendship,  but  merely  indi- 
cated that  acquaintance  which,  in  the  way  of  business, 
any  one  might  have  with  another,  she  beckoned  him  to 
her.  Surprised  and  very  much  embarrassed  by  this 
action,  John  approached  her. 

"  Mr.  People,"  she  said,  "  how  do  you  do  ?  I  would 
like  to  have  the  clams  in  those  first  three  words/' 
pointing  as  she  spoke,  "  for  my  luncheon.  Will  you 
please  have  them  stewed  for  me  1 " 

John  turned  and  gazed  somewhat  blankly  at  the 
sentence  he  had  formed.  "  '  Gone  are  all '  won't  make 
a  full  stew,"  he  said.  "  Those  clams  are  very  small." 

"  They  will  be  quite  enough,"  said  Miss  Stull. 
"  Please  order  them  cooked." 

There  was  a  look  which  accompanied  this  injunc- 
tion that  would  have  convinced  John,  if  he  had 
needed  convincing,  of  the  absolute  truth  of  what 
Gay  Armatt  had  said  to  him.  He  turned  without 
speaking,  and  walking  to  the  shelf;  gathered  up,  with 
his  own  hands,  the  clams  which  spelled  "  Gone  are 
all."  He  handed  them  to  an  attendant,  and  ordered 
them  stewed  for  the  lady  at  the  table  opposite,  and 
then  stepped  back  to  his  desk,  his  heart  like  a  clam 
within  him. 

In  about  five  minutes  he  raised  his  eyes  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  door,  and  he  beheld  Miss  Burns  entering. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  339 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  moment,  and  then  his  blood, 
which  apparently  had  been  greatly  occupied  else- 
where, came  up  into  his  face.  He  stood  more  erect, 
his  whole  body  seemed  to  stiffen,  and  with  a  sudden 
resolve  he  walked  to  the  new-comer,  who  sat  behind 
Miss  Stull,  and  much  nearer  the  door. 

"  Miss  Burns,"  said  he,  "  we  have  some  very  fine 
clams  to-day.  Will  you  let  me  have  a  stew  made  for 
you?" 

Gratified  by  this  attention,  Miss  Burns  immediately 
gave  her  assent.  John  now  quickly  stepped  to  the 
shelf,  threw  aside  the  last  two  letters  of  his  sentence, 
and  gathering  up  the  clams  which  formed  "  the  hopes 
I  cherish,"  sent  them  to  be  stewed. 

Miss  Burns,  following  John's  movements,  saw  the 
words  before  the  clams  were  swept  together,  and, 
stooping,  fumbled  with  the  buttons  of  one  of  her 
boots. 

The  waiter  thought  the  stew  would  be  a  large  one, 
but  he  made  no  remark.  There  was  something  in 
John's  eye  which  showed  that  he  meant  what  he  did. 

Miss  Stull,  who  was  waiting  for  her  stew,  and  had 
turned  half  around  when  John  left  the  desk,  saw  the 
whole  proceeding.  It  brought  upon  her  face  a  smile, 
a  very  different  one  from  that  which  had  last  been 
there,  and  a  very  good  smile  for  John  People. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

N  the  day  of  his  arrival  at  his  farm 
Mr.  Stull  drove  over  to  the  county 
town,  and  had  an  interview  with 
Zenas  Turby.  That  energetic  col- 
lector of  debts  and  facts  had  made 
a  very  favorable  report  in  regard  to 
the  iron  on  the  Bullripple  farm ;  and  Mr.  Stull  now 
also  received  valuable  information  concerning  the 
"Western  heirs  to  the  farms  held  by  himself  and 
Enoch.  These  persons  had  been  made  acquainted  by 
Mr.  Turby's  letters  with  the  loss  and  injustice  they 
had  sustained,  and  of  the  fact  that  although  the 
property  in  question  was  not  very  valuable,  it  was 
quite  certain,  if  the  affair  was  properly  managed, 
that  they  could  come  into  their  rights  without  expen- 
sive process  of  law ;  the  case  being  so  plain  that  the 
parties  in  possession  would  probably  not  think  it 
worth  while  to  resist  the  setting  aside  of  the  illegal 
transfer  and  the  immediate  sale  of  the  property  with 
a  rightful  division  of  the  proceeds. 

"  They  must  think,"  said  Mr.  Stull,  "  that  the  par- 
ties in  possession  are  very  great  fools  to  give  up  what 
they  have  paid  for  without  making  a  fight  for  it ;  but 
if  it  is  to  our  advantage  to  appear  foolish,  let  us  do 
so  by  all  means.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  decline  to 

340 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  341 

throw  good  money  after  bad  in  defending  my  title, 
and  as  to  that  man  Bullripple,  I  imagine  there  will 
not  be  much  trouble  in  making  him  take  the  same 
position,  for  I  don't  believe  he  can  afford  to  go  to  law 
about  it." 

"  Not  he/7  sneered  Mr.  Turby.  "  When  he  can  pay 
his  taxes  he  is  doing  very  well." 

"  What  we  have  to  do  now,'7  said  Mr.  Stull,  "  is  to 
have  the  matter  legally  arranged  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, and  the  sale  ordered.  I  shall  then  buy  both 
tracts." 

"  You  will  get  them  cheap,"  said  Turby,  "  for  there's 
nobody  in  these  parts  who  will  care  to  bid  against 
you." 

Mr.  Stull  wanted,  of  course,  to  get  the  land  as 
cheaply  as  possible,  having  already  paid  for  part  of 
it ;  but  as  the  amount  paid  had  not  been  very  large, 
he  would  have  preferred  to  lose  that,  and  to  give  a 
fair  average  price  for  the  two  farms,  rather  than  to 
hold  one  of  them  by  a  tenure  which  would  make  it 
impossible  for  him  to  dispose  of  it  justly,  and  unad- 
visable  to  invest  any  money  in  its  improvement  and 
development.  His  business  sagacity  had  never  before 
allowed  him  to  buy  property  to  which  he  could  not 
receive  a  good  title,  but  the  opportunity  to  become 
possessed  of  the  late  Mr.  People's  farm  for  a  small 
sum  had  been  a  tempting  one,  and  had  caused  Mr. 
Stull  to  close  the  bargain  and  take  his  chances  as  to 
future  settlement  with  heirs  who  might  or  who  might 
not  turn  up.  His  chance  now,  he  thought,  was  very 
good,  and  even  if  the  land  should  not  be  valuable 
from  a  mineral  point  of  view,  he  would  be  glad  to 


342  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

have  a  large  and  extensive  country  place  in  this 
picturesque  region. 

"  I  will  see  Bullripple  myself/'  he  said  to  Turby. 
"  I  think  I  can  make  him  understand  that  his  wisest 
course  will  be  to  step  aside  and  make  no  opposition. 
And,  by  the  way,  you  can  mention  to  those  Western 
people  that  it  might  be  well  for  them  to  offer  some 
inducements  to  the  parties  in  possession  to  vacate 
their  claims.  Considering  that  we  have  paid  our 
money,  they  ought  to  do  that." 

"  I'll  put  that  to  them,"  said  Turby,  "  and  if  they 
agree,  it  ought  to  help  persuade  that  thick-headed 
Bullripple  to  step  out." 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Stull  called  upon  Enoch, 
and  appeared  before  him  in  the  light  of  an  injured 
man.  His  sense  of  injury,  however,  was  mingled  with 
a  solemn  dignity  which  forbade  any  violence  of 
expression. 

He  told  Enoch  of  the  information  he  had  received 
concerning  the  Western  heirs,  and  then  he  added : 
"You  have  brought  me,  sir,  into  a  very  annoying  pre- 
dicament 5  a  situation,  I  may  say,  which  is  unworthy 
of  me." 

"I'd  like  to  know  what  I  had  to  do  with  it?" 
asked  Enoch. 

"  You  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it,"  replied  Mr. 
Stull,  with  lofty  severity.  "  You  were  apparently  a 
man  of  probity  in  this  vicinity,  and  you  were  the 
alleged  owner  of  a  property  which  had  been  acquired 
at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  way  as  that  which 
had  belonged  to  your  brother-in-law,  and  which  I 
bought.  With  your  example  before  my  eyes,  there 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  343 

was  no  reason  why  I  should  hesitate  to  pay  my  money 
for  that  land." 

"  Considering  how  little  you  paid/7  said  Enoch,  "  I 
don't  think  you  had  any  reason  to  hesitate." 

"  That  land,  sir,"  continued  Mr.  Stull,  without 
attention  to  the  last  remark,  "  as  I  am  now  informed, 
does  not  belong  to  me  any  more  than  this  land 
belongs  to  you.  But  I  have  not  come  here  to  make 
reproaches.  There  are  some  losses  which  my  self-re- 
spect teaches  me  to  accept  and  say  nothing  about.  I 
am  here  simply  to  know  what  you  intend  to  do  in  the 
matter.  If  it  is  carried  to  the  courts,  I  have  no  case, 
and  you  have  no  case.  That  will  be  followed  by 
great  expense  and  much  annoyance,  and  by  the  loss 
of  the  land  the  same  as  if  we  had  not  gone  to  law.  I 
consider  that  the  proper,  the  honorable,  and  the 
honest  course  is  for  me  and  for  you  to  accept  the 
situation,  to  cease  to  insist  upon  an  ownership  in 
lands  for  which  we  have  not  paid  all  the  rightful 
owners,  and  to  accept  whatever  terms  said  owners 
are  willing  to  offer  us.  Now,  sir,  do  you  intend  to 
join  me  in  this  just  and  honorable  course?  Or  do 
you  propose  to  act  in  a  stubborn  and  litigious  man- 
ner, and  so  bring  trouble  and  expense  upon  all 
concerned  ?" 

Mr.  Bullripple  sat  with  his  eyes  half  shut  and  fixed 
upon  the  ground.  "  It  may  be,"  he  thought,  "  that 
this  land  has  iron  in  it  after  all."  Then  he  replied  to 
Mr.  Stull.  "  I  can't  say,"  said  he,  "  upon  a  suddint 
this  way,  just  exactly  what  I'll  do.  But  I  do  declare 
it  doesn't  look  a  bit  like  you  to  give  up  this  way 
just  as  soon  as  the  thing  is  mentioned." 


344  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"When  I  am  right/7  said  Mr.  Stull,  with  much 
loftiness,  "  I  never  give  up  ;  but  when  I  am  wrong,  I 
deem  it  my  duty  to  do  so  without  delay,  and  I  hope, 
sir,  that  you  will  see  that  it  is  also  your  duty  as  well 
as  your  interest." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Stull,"  said  Enoch,  rising,  and  taking 
two  strides  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  "  I'll  think 
it  over,  and  see  what  is  best  to  be  done.  And  I  guess 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  wait  till  we  hear  some- 
thing positive  from  those  fellows  in  the  West." 

"  I  have  said  all  I  have  to  say,"  said  Mr.  Stull. 
And  he  took  his  leave. 

"  Bull  ripple  is  too  stupidly  obstinate  to  agree  with 
anybody,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  walked  away,  "but 
if  I  give  in,  he'll  have  to.'7 

Enoch  was  a  good  deal  more  disturbed  by  Mr. 
Stall's  information  than  he  had  appeared  to  be.  He 
had  heard  of  these  Western  heirs,  but  had  never  put 
much  faith  in  them,  and  he  had  believed,  moreover, 
that  his  possession  would  in  time  give  him  a  valid 
title  which  would  be  good  against  all  claims.  But  he 
had  never  given  himself  any  trouble  to  ascertain  the 
existence  or  non-existence  of  other  claimants,  and 
had  taken  no  legal  measures,  in  fact,  to  protect  him- 
self in  case  claims  should  be  brought. 

Nothing,  however,  so  disturbed  his  faith  in  the 
strength  of  his  tenure  of  his  farm  as  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Stull  had  admitted  that  the  title  to  his  own  farm 
was  not  a  good  one.  He  had  never  liked  Stull,  and 
since  his  discovery  of  the  ownership  of  Vatoldi's  he 
had  had  a  thorough  contempt  for  the  man.  But  he 
knew  him  to  be  an  unusually  astute  business  man, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  345 

and  when  Mr.  Stull  stated  that  his  title  to  a  piece  of 
property  was  not  good,  there  was  as  much  reason  to 
believe  that  he  had  thoroughly  examined  the  case  and 
was  correct  in  his  view  of  it,  as  there  was  to  believe 
that  he  never  would  have  made  the  admission  if  it 
were  possible  to  avoid  it. 

But  Enoch's  belief  in  Mr.  StulPs  business  sagacity 
went  still  further.  "  That  pie-man,"  he  thought,  "  is 
pushin'  this  thing,  and  he  wouldn't  do  it  if  he  didn't 
expect  to  make  somethin'  out  of  it.  If  there  wasn't 
no  more  of  it  than  what  he  told  me,  he'd  jus'  keep 
quiet  and  let  other  people  do  what  had  to  be  done. 
Yes,  sir,"  he  said  aloud  to  himself,  after  he  had  taken 
a  few  meditative  turns  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets, 
"  there's  more  in  this  thing  than  he  wants  me  to  see. 
It  may  be  iron,  and  it  may  be  something  else ;  but, 
whatever  it  is,  the  pie-man  is  on  the  grab  for  it ! " 

Mr.  Bullripple  thought  over  this  matter  all  the  rest 
of  the  day  and  a  good  part  of  the  night ;  and  in  the 
morning  he  laid  the  subject  before  Mr.  Stratford. 
That  gentleman  listened  with  much  attention ;  he 
was  always  interested  in  Enoch  and  his  concerns. 
But  before  he  could  form  any  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  case,  Mr.  Bullripple,  who  was  one  of  those  per- 
sons who  ask  counsel  of  others  for  the  purpose  of 
having  their  own  decisions  supported,  proceeded  to 
give  his  views. 

"  Of  course,  I  can't  tell,"  said  he,  "  exactly  what  that 
Stull  is  after,  but  I've  given  my  brains  a  good  bad- 
gering and  I've  pretty  well  made  up  my  mind  that 
when  the  whole  thing  is  settled,  it'll  be  Stull  that's 
got  these  two  farms,  and  not  them  Western  men. 


346  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

And  when  that's  happened,  I  may  as  well  get  ready 
to  walk,  for  he  hates  me  wuss  than  he  hates  the 
devil.77 

"Why  should  that  be?"  asked  Mr.  Stratford,  sur- 
prised. 

"  Oh,  well,77  said  Enoch,  "  he  and  I  once  had  a  little 
business  together,  and  I  got  the  better  of  him.  It's 
not  a  thing  I  can  talk  about ;  but  it  made  him  hate 
me ;  there's  no  gettin7  7round  that.77 

Remembering  all  that  Enoch  had  told  him  at  Va- 
toldi7s  about  his  being  in  search  of  a  rat  in  a  hole ; 
and  assuming,  for  he  had  never  been  so  informed, 
that  this  search  had  been  successful,  it  was  not  diffi- 
cult for  Mr.  Stratford  to  put  this  and  that  together. 
He  reflected  that  Enoch,  who  was  always  very  free- 
spoken  about  his  affairs,  had  never  told  him  the 
result  of  his  hunt  for  the  rat,  and  had  just  admitted 
that  he  had  had  a  piece  of  private  business  with  Mr. 
Stull  of  which  he  could  not  speak,  and  it  was  natural 
that  in  Mr.  Stratford's  mind  said  Stull  and  said  rat 
should  merge  themselves  into  the  same  personality. 

This  conclusion  surprised  Stratford  very  much.  If 
Enoch  had  been  earnestly  looking  for  some  one,  it  was 
tolerably  certain  that  there  was  some  one  to  look  for, 
and  he  knew  no  reason  why  that  some  one  should  not 
be  Mr.  Stull.  Stratford  knew  the  man  but  slightly, 
and  cared  little  for  what  he  knew.  It  was,  therefore, 
a  matter  of  small  concern  to  him  that  the  bank  presi- 
dent sold  oyster  stews,  but  it  was  a  matter  of  very 
great  concern  that  Enoch  had  discovered  the  fact. 
This  old  farmer  was  a  man  whose  character  and 
methods  deserved  careful  study. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  347 

"  Now,  this  is  the  way  I've  worked  it  out/7  continued 
Enoch.  "  If  what  Stull  says  is  so,  and  I'm  inclined  to 
believe  it  is,  for  he  wouldn't  come  to  any  man  and 
tell  him  that  he  didn't  own  any  particular  thing  if 
there  was  the  least  chance  in  the  world  of  his  keep- 
in'  it  without  fairly  ownin'  it,  then  Pm  of  the  opinion 
that  the  quicker  somethin'  is  done  the  better." 

"  What  would  you  do  ? "  asked  Stratford. 

"  What  Pd  do,"  said  Enoch,  "  would  be  this :  Pd  go 
straight  out  West,  and  see  them  other  heirs.  Pd  look 
into  their  claims  and  see  how  good  they  was.  It 
wouldn't  cost  much  to  do  that.  Then,  if  everything 
was  all  straight,  Pd  just  ask  'em  what  they'd  take  for 
their  claims.  If  they  had  any  sense  at  all  they'd 
rather  take  a  middlin'  fair  price  down  in  cash  than  to 
go  to  a  lot  of  trouble  and  perhaps  have  the  land  sold 
for  mighty  little.  I  think  I  could  put  all  that  before 
'em  so's  they  could  see  it.  Then  Pd  come  home  and 
go  to  somebody, —  say  to  you,  Mr.  Stratford, —  and 
borry  the  money  Pd  have  to  pay  down ;  Pd  be  mighty 
keerful,  too,  to  hunt  up  any  other  heirs,  if  there  was 
any,  and  buy  up  their  claims.  When  that  was  all 
done,  Pd  take  the  same  law  steps  that  them  fellows 
would  have  took,  and  when  the  case  was  settled,  the 
property  needn't  be  sold  to  divide  the  money,  for 
there'd  only  be  one  owner  to  the  whole  of  it,  and  that 
would  be  me.  When  I'd  got  the  deed  all  safe  in  my 
possession,  Pd  give  the  man  who  lent  me  the  money 
— he'd  have  to  trust  me  till  then — a  mortgage  on  the 
whole  property.  Then  there  couldn't  be  no  turnin' 
out  of  house  and  home.  Pd  go  on  here  the  same  as 
ever,  payin'  a  fair  and  reg'lar  interest  on  the  mort- 


348  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

gage.  And  as  for  Stall,  if  lie  likes  that  place,  he  could 
just  live  there  as  long  as  he  liked,  and  I'd  put  the 
rent  high  enough  to  cover  the  interest  I'd  have  to 
pay  on  the  two  places.  If  he  didn't  want  to  do  that, 
he  might  go,  and  that  farm  could  easily  be  sold  for 
enough  to  pay  off  the  whole  mortgage.  Now,  isn't 
that  a  pretty  straight  and  even  plan  ?  With  all  the 
iron  left  out,  too,  for  that's  a  thing  I  don't  believe  in." 

Stratford  laughed.  "It  certainly  is  an  ingenious 
plan,  and  may  hold  together.  If  I  were  you,  I'd  try 
it.  I  fear  there  are  some  weak  points  in  your  scheme, 
but  they  may  not  prevent  its  success.  At  all  events, 
you  would  lose  nothing  by  the  trial,  and  I  should  be 
very  sorry  indeed  to  see  this  farm  taken  from  you." 

"Well,  sir,"  said  Enoch,  "that's  what  you'd  do  if 
you  was  me.  Now  then,  bein'  yourself,  would  you 
advance  me  the  money,  and  then  take  a  mortgage  on 
the  land  for  it?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Stratford ;  "  if  the  facts  are  what 
you  suppose  them  to  be,  and  all  the  heirs  are  willing 
to  sell  out  their  claims,  I'll  advance  the  money." 

"  Good ! "  cried  Mr.  Bullripple,  slapping  one  hard 
palm  with  the  other.  "  And  now  I'll  see  if  I  can't 
match  farm  work  ag'in'  pie-bakin'." 

"  Enoch,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  with  a  smile,  "  you 
said  too  much  that  time." 

"  Perhaps  I  did,"  said  the  old  farmer,  "  but  slips 
don't  count." 

As  he  walked  away  Mr.  Stratford  felt  more  than 
ever  convinced  that  if  Enoch  Bullripple,  instead  of 
being  driven  from  his  farm  by  the  revengeful  Stull, 
should  succeed,  without  loss  to  himself  or  to  any  one, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  349 

in  making  that  lofty  personage  pay  him  rent  for  his 
present  country-seat,  he  would  add  very  much  to  his 
previous  claims  to  be  considered  a  hundredth  man. 
It  was  not  the  old  farmer's  cleverness  and  natural 
cunning  that  Stratford  considered  in  this  connection  j 
it  was  his  willingness,  as  shown  in  his  extraordinary 
conduct  at  Vatoldi's,  to  throw  himself,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gaining  his  ends,  into  a  position  which  no- 
body else  would  be  likely  to  think  of,  or  be  courageous 
enough  to  take,  which  made  our  friend  imagine  that, 
in  all  probability,  his  search  for  a  man,  entirely 
unique  and  exceptional,  had,  at  last,  met  with  suc- 


30 


CHAPTER  XXX 


AY  ARMATT  did  not  find  the  pres- 
ence of  Mr.  Thorne  in  the  Cherry 
Bridge  neighborhood  that  interrup- 
tion to  her  studies  and  daily  pur- 
suits which  she  had  supposed  it 
would  be.  Her  expectations  had 
been  that  Mr.  Stratford  would  find  it  necessary  to 
give  so  much  of  his  time  to  his  friend  that  very  little 
of  it  would  be  left  for  her.  Of  course  there  were 
studies  and  a  good  many  daily  pursuits  which  could 
very  well  be  carried  on  without  the  presence  of  Mr. 
Stratford,  but  this  did  not  suit  Miss  Gay.  She  had 
become  accustomed  to  Stratford's  helpful  counsel  and 
to  the  pleasure  of  his  society.  She  liked  them,  and 
she  did.  not  wish  to  give  them  up.  She  was  sitting  at 
the  feet  of  a  master,  and  it  would  have  greatly  grieved 
her  had  circumstances  compelled  her  to  rise. 

But  Arthur  Thorne  did  not  prove  to  be  such  a  cir- 
cumstance. On  the  contrary,  he  was  scrupulously 
careful  not  to  interfere  with  the  life  which  Gay  was 
now  leading.  Stratford  determined  to  go  on  with  his 
visits  to  Mrs.  Justin  and  his  intercourse  with  Gay  as 
if  Thorne  had  not  been  there ;  while  the  younger  man 
determined  that  his  intercourse  with  Gay  should 
be  largely  influenced  by  the  fact  that  Stratford  was 

350 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  351 

there.  It  was  not  his  object  to  endeavor  to  supplant 
Stratford  j  this  he  knew  he  could  not  do ;  all  he 
hoped  was  to  make  himself  known,  and  perhaps  favor- 
ably known,  to  the  woman  he  loved.  If,  then,  Stratford 
held  to  his  word,  his  opportunity  might  come ;  at  all 
events,  he  would  not  be  a  stranger  to  Gay  Armatt. 
That  point  in  Stratford's  argument  had  made  a  strong 
impression  on  him. 

It  was  Thome's  custom  to  walk  over  from  the 
Cherry  Bridge  tavern  in  the  afternoon,  and  often  in 
the  evening,  and  if  he  could  talk  or  walk  with  one 
or  both  of  the  ladies,  or  play  croquet  with  them,  or 
do  for  them  anything  which  they  might  wish  him  to 
do,  he  was  very  glad.  If  it  happened  that  Stratford 
were  there,  and  it  often  did  so  happen,  Thome 
showed  no  indisposition  to  join  in  any  general  occu- 
pation, though  he  avoided  thrusting  himself  into  any 
special  one.  He  took  the  goods  the  goddesses  gave, 
and  was  very  thankful. 

Mrs.  Justin  noticed  all  this,  and  though  she  really 
wished  Mr.  Thorne  would  stay  away,  she  could  not 
help  honoring  him  for  his  thoughtful  and  courteous 
conduct.  His  visits  could  not  be  pleasant  to  her, 
favoring,  as  she  did,  a  union  between  Stratford  and 
Gay,  but  no  man  whom  she  knew  could  have  brought 
upon  himself  under  similar  circumstances  so  small  a 
taint  of  unpleasantness. 

Gay  did  not  know  Mr.  Thome's  object  in  coming 
to  the  house,  but  she  soon  found  that,  as  far  as  she 
was  concerned,  his  coming  made  no  difference.  This 
was  very  pleasant,  and  made  her  look  upon  the 
gentleman,  especially  at  croquet,  as  an  agreeable 


352  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

addition  to  their  little  circle.  She  could  not  but  see, 
too,  although  it  did  not  strike  her  mind  as  soon  as  it 
did  that  of  Mrs.  Justin,  how  he  refrained  from  putting 
himself  in  those  paths  which  she  and  Mr.  Stratford 
were  wont  to  walk  together.  For  that  she  liked  Mr. 
Thorne  better  than  for  anything  else. 

As  the  days  went  on,  the  ladies  of  the  Justin 
household  began  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  two 
gentlemen  friends  were  better  than  one,  because  the 
little  vacancies  and  gaps  which  must  occasionally  be 
left  by  one  of  them  could  almost  always  be  filled  by 
the  other.  A  more  useful  and  agreeable  second  man 
than  Mr.  Thorne  could  scarcely  be  found.  In  most 
cases  he  was  perfectly  able  to  take  the  place  of  first 
man,  and  yet  he  was  always  willing  to  fall  into  the 
subordinate  position.  This  indicated  mental  endow- 
ments of  a  kind  very  rare  and  very  valuable. 

Though  Mr.  Stratford  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the 
Justin  house,  he  did  not  come  every  day,  and  some- 
times, of  a  morning,  Arthur  Thorne  would  stand  and 
lean  against  the  railings  of  the  shady  piazza  where 
Gay  was  in  the  habit  of  doing  her  reading  and  study- 
ing, which,  by  the  way,  had  become  much  more  of  a 
habit  than  in  the  early  summer.  At  such  times  he 
did  not  stay  very  long,  nor  say  very  much,  but  it 
cost  him  an  effort,  which  only  a  strong  man  could 
have  given,  to  tear  himself  away  and  leave  Gay  un- 
disturbed with  her  books.  Several  times  Mrs.  Justin 
noticed  this  proceeding,  and  she  could  not  refrain 
from  giving  Mr.  Thorne  her  unqualified  admiration. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  Thorne  remarked  to 
Gay :  "  I  wish  very  much,  Miss  Arrnatt,  that  there 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  353 

was  something  inside  the  vast  scope  of  human  knowl- 
edge which  I  could  help  you  to  study.  There  ought 
to  be  something,  but  I  don't  believe  there  is." 

Gay  smiled.  "I  expect  there  are  ever  so  many 
things/'  she  said,  "that  you  could  teach  me  from 
beginning  to  end." 

Thorne  shook  his  head.  "No,"  said  he,  "your 
studies  are  extensive  enough  already,  and  there  is 
nothing  I  would  undertake  to  teach  except  law  ;  and 
in  that,  of  course,  you  would  take  no  interest." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  Gay.  "  There  are 
a  great  many  things  about  law  which  a  woman  ought 
to  know,  especially  those  things  which  particularly 
concern  her,  and  of  which  I  am  totally  ignorant." 

"  And  would  you  like  to  know  them  ? "  eagerly  asked 
Thorne. 

"  Certainly,"  answered  Gay.  "  The  object  of  my 
life,  Mr.  Thorne,  is  to  know.7' 

As  she  said  this  a  little  shade  of  darkness  crept  into 
that  young  face,  which  Thorne  had  never  seen  there 
before.  It  was  so  slight  a  shade  that  most  persons 
would  not  have  noticed  it,  but  Thorne  marked  it,  and 
referred  it  to  the  fact  that  a  little  while  ago  this  young 
person  had  another  object  in  life,  which,  in  a  tangible 
and  acknowledged  form,  did  not  now  exist. 

"  If  you  will  allow  me,  Miss  Armatt,"  he  said,  "  it 
will  give  me  very  great  pleasure  to  indicate  to  you 
some  points  of  law  which  I  really  think  you  ought 
to  understand,  and  without  a  knowledge  of  which,  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say,  I  believe  no  person  should  be 
called  thoroughly  educated.  I  can  write  out  the  points 
to  which  it  would  be  well  to  direct  your  attention, 


354  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

and  give  you  authorities  and  references  which  you 
can  make  use  of  if  you  like.  Then  you  can  look 
into  the  subject  at  your  convenience,  and  I  can 
always  furnish  you  with  any  books  you  may  want." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  indeed,  Mr.  Thorne,"  said  Gay, 
"  and  I  think  your  suggestion  a  sensible  and  practi- 
cal one.  There  are  many  general  principles  of  law, 
and  particular  applications,  too,  which  I  am  sure 
would  be  of  use  to  me,  and  which  I  really  ought  to 
know  if  I  ever  expect  to  call  myself  well  informed. 
It  would  be  entirely  too  much  for  you  to  write  out 
subjects  and  references,  as  you  are  so  good  as  to 
suggest,  and  I  would  not  ask  you  to  put  yourself  to 
so  much  trouble ;  but  if  you  could  talk  over  the  mat- 
ter with  me  when  it  is  perfectly  convenient  to  you, 
I  should  be  very  much  obliged  indeed.  It  wouldn't 
interfere  at  all  with  my  other  work,  for  I  have  plenty 
of  spare  time." 

As  Gay  said  this  she  had  a  consciousness  that  she 
was  conferring  a  favor,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to 
confer  it.  She  was  entirely  honest  in  the  expression 
of  her  desire  to  know  something  of  the  laws  under 
which  she  lived;  but  she  also  felt  that  Mr.  Thome 
was  a  young  man  of  such  kindly  disposition  that  it 
was  a  kindness  to  him  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to 
be  kind. 

Mr.  Thorne  was  charmed.  He  went  away  to  his 
room  in  the  Cherry  Bridge  tavern,  and  set  himself  to 
work  to  prepare  from  the  resources  of  his  very  exten- 
sive information  a  concise  but  comprehensive  sum- 
mary of  some  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  law 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  355 

which  everybody  ought  to  know,  and  also  of  such 
specific  points  as  women  in  particular  ought  to  know. 
The  work  interested  him  greatly,  and  it  was  not  until 
his  lamp  burned  out  that  night  that  he  laid  down  his 
pen.  Early  the  next  morning  he  hired  a  horse  and 
rode  over  to  the  county  town,  where  he  asked  the 
privilege  from  a  lawyer  to  make  abstracts  from  some 
of  his  legal  books. 

It  was  several  days  before  Arthur  Thorne  had 
prepared  to  his  satisfaction  his  ground  plan  of  the 
legal  education  of  Gay  Armatt.  When  it  was  finished 
he  betook  himself  to  the  Justin  mansion  with  his 
papers  in  his  pocket,  determined  on  no  account  to 
obtrude  the  matter  upon  her  attention  did  not  a 
favorable  opportunity  present  itself. 

His  opportunity  came  immediately.  He  found  Gay 
and  Mrs.  Justin  sitting  together,  and  the  young  lady 
received  him  with  unusual  cordiality.  "  I  hope,  Mr. 
Thorne,"  she  said,  "  that  you  have  come  prepared  to 
talk  law.  I  have  thought  of  no  less  than  four  things 
that  I  want  to  ask  you  immediately,  although  I  sup- 
pose you  will  wish  to  begin  with  Magna  Charta,  or 
some  such  foundation-stone." 

"  I  am  quite  ready,"  he  said,  pulling  out  his  papers, 
"  and  Magna  Charta  can  wait.  Now,  what  are  your 
four  points  ?  " 

Mrs.  Justin  had  been  told  by  Gay  of  the  proposed 
plan  of  legal  instruction,  and  she  had  not  favored  it. 
It  would  give  Thorne  too  many  advantages,  and 
besides,  she  thought  that  Gay  was  working  too  hard 
already.  But  her  young  friend  set  aside  all  her  ob- 


356  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

jections.  These  things  would  be  but  trifles,  she 
declared,  and  even  were  it  otherwise,  she  had  never 
felt  so  much  like  work  in  her  life. 

Mrs.  Justin  had  not  withdrawn  her  objections,  but 
after  a  little  talk  with  Mr.  Thome  she  withdrew  her- 
self, and  left  the  two  to  settle  the  four  points.  When, 
that  evening,  she  told  Mr.  Stratford  of  Gay's  new 
course  of  study  he  did  not  object. 

"  It  seems  rather  an  odd  thing  to  do,"  he  said,  "  but 
then  Gay  Armatt  is  somewhat  of  an  odd  young  lady, 
and  as  for  Arthur  Thorne,  although  he  is  generally 
most  oddly  proper,  I  have  found  that,  upon  occasion, 
he  can  be  properly  odd." 

Mrs.  Justin  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "I  do  not 
like  it  at  all,"  she  said. 

"I  think  I  do,"  replied  Stratford.  "A  certain 
amount  of  knowledge  of  that  kind  will  be  very  useful 
to  Miss  Armatt,  and  Thome  is  just  the  man  to  give  it 
to  her." 

"  He  is  just  the  man  who  should  not  give  it  to  her," 
quickly  replied  Mrs.  Justin.  "  Horace  Stratford,  you 
are  either  blind  or  wickedly  foolish." 

"My  dear  friend,"  said  Mr.  Stratford,  "I  wish  that 
I  could  make  you  understand  that  I  am  neither." 

"That  you  can  easily  do,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "by 
marrying  Gay."  And  there  the  conversation  stopped. 

Not  every  day,  but  still  often,  Gay  and  Arthur, 
with  a  great  deal  of  earnest  interest  on  each  side, 
pursued  their  legal  studies.  It  was  but  a  slight 
skeleton  of  a  course  of  study,  but  it  was  one  calcu- 
lated to  place  a  woman  in  a  position  of  intelligence 
with  regard  to  her  relations  with  her  fellow-beings 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  357 

which  would  give  her  great  advantages  over  other 
women  who  did  not  occupy  that  position.  To  Gray  it 
was  all  very  pleasant  j  it  helped  and  satisfied  her 
desire  to  make  herself  thoroughly  well  informed  and 
cultured.  .To  Arthur  Thorne  it  was  heaven. 

The  weeks  passed  on,  and  touches  of  red  and  yellow 
began  to  appear  here  and  there  in  the  foliage,  while 
the  days  became  so  perceptibly  shorter  that  those 
who  drove  out  in  the  afternoon  frequently  came  home 
under  the  twinkling  light  of  the  evening  star.  The 
accustomed  intercourse  of  Stratford  and  Gay  con- 
tinued without  a  change,  except  that  it  now  received 
from  Mrs.  Justin  certain  favoring  impulses  which, 
before,  she  had  not  been  wont  to  give  it ;  and  the 
occasional  intercourse  of  Gay  and  Thorne  became 
more  friendly  and  easy,  in  spite  of  the  absolute  want 
of  encouragement  shown  to  it  by  Mrs.  Justin. 

Had  any  one  appeared  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cherry  Bridge,  and  declared  that  at  any  season  of 
the  year  in  any  part  of  that  country  there  was  the 
slightest  trace  of  malaria,  he  would  probably  have 
fared  badly.  Mrs.  People  would  have  been  glad  to 
scratch  the  skin  from  his  defaming  face,  and  if  no 
one,  in  fact,  should  offer  to  him  personal  injury,  he 
would  have  been  so  borne  down  with  contempt  and 
condemnation  that  he  would  have  yearned  to  flee  to 
some  region  the  pride  of  whose  people  in  their  healthy 
surroundings  he  had  not  shocked. 

Mrs.  Justin  was  very  prudent  concerning  public 
opinion.  Upon  no  account  would  she  say  a  word 
against  this  general  belief  in  the  healthfulness  of  the 
neighborhood.  But  in  her  own  mind  she  now  began 


358  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  be  of  the  opinion  that  Gay  Armatt  was  suffering 
from  some  sort  of  malarial  influence.  She  was  not  at 
all  the  same  girl  that  she  was  when  she  came  to  that 
Cherry  Bridge  country.  Her  mental  activity  was  as 
great  as  ever,  but  she  could  now  be  tired  by  a  mode- 
rate walk,  or  even  a  very  long  drive.  There  were 
other  indications  of  an  unsatisfactory  state  of  health, 
which  were  not  generally  noticeable,  but  easily  per- 
ceived by  the  quick  eye  of  Mrs.  Justin.  At  first  she 
attributed  Gay's  apparent  decrease  in  physical  stamina 
to  her  studies,  but  she  soon  gave  up  that  idea.  The 
work  done  by  her  young  friend  was  not  enough  to 
injure  any  healthy  person  of  her  years,  and  it  was 
intermingled  with  constant  recreation  and  outdoor 
life.  There  was  something  too  much  of  it,  and  it  might 
occasionally  have  made  Gay  appear  a  little  weary. 
But  the  effects  of  study  were  not  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  symptoms  Mrs.  Justin  noticed. 

The  village  doctor  was  called  in,  and  he  prescribed 
a  tonic,  but  this  was  of  no  benefit ;  and  therefore  it 
was  that  Mrs.  Justin  privately  made  up  her  mind  that 
there  were  in  the  atmosphere  malarial  influences  to 
which  Gay  was  peculiarly  susceptible,  and  that  she 
would  not  be  better  until  she  should  go  away. 

If  Gay  had  moped,  or  had  been  lowspirited,  or  had 
shown  any  symptoms  of  retrospective  melancholy, 
Mrs.  Justin  would  have  attributed  her  condition  to 
the  broken  engagement.  But  there  was  nothing  of 
the  kind.  Gay  had  behaved  admirably  after  her 
great  trial.  She  had  kept  up  her  spirits,  and  it  was 
only  in  physical  action  that  she  showed  any  decrease 
in  strength  and  activity.  This  state  of  mind  Mrs. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  359 

Justin  attributed  in  great  degree  to  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Stratford.  There  was  no  possible  doubt  of  the 
fact  that  Gay  could  not  so  constantly  associate  with 
him  without  discovering  by  contrast  the  inferiority 
and  unworthiness  of  the  man  who  had  left  her. 

Having  determined  that  Gay's  health  demanded  a 
complete  change  of  scene  and  air,  Mrs.  Justin  also 
considered  it  her  duty  to  bring  about  that  change 
without  loss  of  time ;  she  therefore  made  the  neces- 
sary preparations  to  go  to  her  winter  home  in  New 
York.  Gay  expected  at  the  end  of  her  Cherry  Bridge 
sojourn  to  spend  some  time  with  her  relatives  in 
Maryland,  but  this  Mrs.  Justin  would  not  allow.  The 
country  at  this  season  was  evidently  no  place  for  Gay ; 
she  must  go  to  the  city.  In  the  course  of  a  week  the 
Justin  house  was  closed,  and  Gay  and  its  owner  had 
departed  for  New  York. 

Mr.  Thorne  had  already  gone  home.  He  had  not 
had  so  many  of  those  delightful  interviews  with  Gay 
as  he  would  have  liked  to  have,  and  he  had  not 
taught  her  a  quarter  as  much  law  as  he  would  have 
wished  to  teach  her.  But  he  had  seen  her  frequently, 
and  his  course  had  been  so  well  begun  that  it  would 
be  easy  to  take  it  up  at  any  time  ;  and,  on  the  whole, 
Mr.  Thorne  was  well  satisfied  j  nay,  more,  he  was 
warmed  and  exhilarated  by  his  sojourn  at  Cherry 
Bridge.  To  give  himself  this  special  holiday  he  had 
broken  away  from  his  professional  pursuits  and  had 
left  his  business  in  the  hands  of  an  associate.  But  he 
did  not  in  the  least  reproach  himself  for  this  depart- 
ure from  his  usual  habits  of  life.  Nothing  could  be 
wiser  than  to  give  a  few  weeks  to  the  furtherance 


360  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

of  an  object  which  was  more  important  to  him  than 
any  other  object  could  possibly  be. 

Mr.  Stratford  remained  at  the  Bullripple  farm. 
The  weather  was  still  pleasant  and  there  was  no  rea- 
son why  he  should  not  stay  in  the  country  as  long 
as  he  had  hitherto  been  accustomed  to  stay.  It  was 
true  that  the  region  seemed  more  lonely  than  in 
former  years  when  he  had  been  there  by  himself,  and 
he  thought  he  was  a  little  tired  of  the  country.  But 
it  would  have  been  ridiculous  for  him  to  have  hurried 
away  after  Mrs.  Justin  and  Gay.  He  promised  him- 
self, however,  and  indeed  he  had  said  as  much  to  the 
ladies,  that  he  would  not  stay  among  the  mountains 
very  long.  His  promise  to  himself  was  partly  based 
on  conviction  that  Gay's  future  happiness  might 
depend  in  a  greater  degree  on  his  presence  in  the  city 
than  it  had  lately  depended  on  their  companionship 
out  here.  What  sudden  exposure  to  her  former  peril 
might  there  occur  he  did  not  know. 

One  afternoon  Stratford  came  to  the  fence  on 
the  top  of  the  eminence  from  which  he  and  Gay  had 
once  watched  the  sunset.  He  seated  himself  on  the 
upper  rail  of  the  fence,  and  thoughtfully  gazed  over 
the  landscape  towards  the  western  sky.  Suddenly 
his  eyes  fell  upon  two  persons  emerging  from  the 
grove  of  sugar-maples  on  the  level  ground  beneath 
him.  It  was  Miss  Matilda  Stull  and  a  gentleman, 
whom,  to  his  astonishment,  he  speedily  recognized  as 
Mr.  Crisman.  They  did  not  come  up  towards  him, 
but  turned  away,  walking  along  the  bottom  of  the 
hill.  Their  very  intimate  manner  as  they  moved 
away,  hand  in  hand,  gave  assurance  that  they  had 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  361 

not  noticed  Stratford,  and  the  very  intimate  converse 
in  which  they  were  evidently  engaged  gave  good 
reason  for  their  not  noticing  anything  but  themselves. 

Stratford  could  scarcely  explain  to  himself  why  the 
appearance  of  these  two  persons,  for  whom  he  had 
such  slight  regard,  should  have  such  a  sudden  and 
disturbing  effect  upon  him.  He  had  heard  from  Mrs. 
People  that  Miss  Stull  and  her  mother  had  returned 
to  the  farm,  but  he  had  known  nothing  of  Crisman's 
presence  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  simply  im- 
possible to  doubt  the  relations  of  these  two  young 
persons  to  each  other.  The  expression  of  their  faces, 
and  their  whole  demeanor  and  action,  showed  that 
they  were  lovers. 

Nothing  should  have  given  Stratford  greater  satis- 
faction than  this.  If  Crisman  were  in  love  with  that 
young  woman  down  yonder,  Gay's  peril  was  over. 
But,  instead  of  a  thrill  of  pleasure,  Stratford  felt  a 
shock.  His  soul  was  filled  with  a  startling  conviction 
that  his  work  was  done;  that  he  had  carried  Gay 
Armatt  over  the  gap  ! 

Slowly,  and  without  noticing  the  world  beneath  his 
feet,  or  the  sky  above  him,  Stratford  descended  from 
the  fence  and  walked  homeward. 


31 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

HE  sugar-maples  were  yet  in  a  glow 
of  crimson;  the  hillsides  were  yet 
green ;  the  sunshine  was  yet  warm 
and  cheering,  when  Mr.  Stratford  an- 
nounced to  Mrs.  People  his  inten- 
tion of  returning  to  his  city  home. 
"  It's  a  good  deal  earlier  than  you've  ever  gone  yet," 
said  she,  "  and  Fm  very  sorry  for  it.  But  it's  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  for  you  must  find  it  very  lonely  here 
with  everybody  away,  and  even  Enoch  himself  gone 
out  West,  which  is  a  thing  he  never  did  before,  and 
which  I  hope  won't  end  by  his  becomin'  a  emigrant, 
for  Pm  sure  I  don't  want  to  go  into  any  such  wild 
country,  or  indeed  into  any  country  at  all,  except 
here,  which  I'm  sure  is  a  good  enough  place  for  any- 
body ;  and  why  Enoch  shouldn't  be  satisfied  to  stay 
where  he  is,  with  everything  comfortable  around 
him,  and  crops  as  good  as  his  neighbors,  and  plenty 
to  eat  and  drink,  I  can't  see  for  the  life  of  me.  If  you 
knew  the  Stull  fam'ly,  now,  they  might  be  some  com- 
pany for  you  ;  but  then,  ag'in,  I  don't  s'pose  you  could 
git  much  out  of  'em.  Old  Stull  himself  has  gone  back 
to  town,  and  the  two  little  girls  have  gone  to  school, 
but  that  Stull  young  woman  and  her  mother  are  here 
ag'in,  and,  what's  more,  that  Mr.  Crisman,  who  Miss 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  363 

Armatt  gave  the  sack  to,  is  here  too  and  courtin'  Miss 
Matilda  as  if  he  was  tryin'  to  ketch  a  train.  Well, 
well,"  continued  the  good  woman,  corrugating  her 
brow  as  the  memory  of  broken  schemes  came  to  her, 
"things  don't  always  turn  out  as  they're  wanted  to, 
but  I  don't  mind  sayin'  it  to  you,  Mr.  Stratford,  that 
if  I  had  ever  turned  out  to  be  that  girl's  mother-in-law, 
I  couldn't  have  lived  with  her,  which  would  have  had 
its  advantages  in  one  way,  for  then  I'd  'a'  lived  here, 
and  not  there,  which  would  'a7  suited  me  better,  for  I 
don't  want  to  leave  Enoch,  and  if  John  had  got  the 
old  place  I'd  been  satisfied  and  asked  no  more  j  and, 
although  Mrs.  Stall  is  her  own  mother,  the  best  I  can 
wish  for  her  is  that  she  won't  have  to  live  with  her, 
which,  considerin'  what  kind  of  a  man  he  must  be 
which  Miss  Gray  and  Mrs.  Justin  had  to  give  his 
walkin'  papers  to,  won't  be  exactly  what  people  mean 
when  they  talk  about  a  heaven  on  earth." 

When  Stratford  returned  to  New  York,  thoroughly 
convinced  of  Mr.  Crisman's  new  attachment,  his  mind, 
instead  of  being  in  a  state  of  certainty  and  decision, 
was  in  a  condition  of  very  great  uncertainty,  in  regard 
to  what  he  would  do,  and  of  very  great  indecision  as 
to  what  he  ought  to  do.  Gay  being  free  from  Cris- 
man,  as  she  surely  was,  his  appointed  work  was  done  ; 
and  what  excuse  could  he  make  to  himself  for  con- 
tinuing that  work?  That  dangerous  space  over 
which  he  had  proposed  to  carry  the  young  fellow- 
being  in  whom  he  had  taken  so  great  an  interest  had 
proved  narrower  than  he  had  supposed  it  would  be, 
and  was  already  crossed.  The  vision  of  Arthur 
Thorne  standing  on  the  opposite  bank  proved  this. 


364  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Whatever  might  or  might  not  happen  to  Gray  from 
Thome's  love  of  her,  the  girl  had  no  present  need  of 
Horace  Stratford. 

This  was  all  clear  and  plain  enough,  and  yet  Strat- 
ford did  not  say  to  himself  that  his  work  being  done 
he  would  step  aside.  "  I  will  see  her  first,"  he  thought, 
"  and  then  I  will  decide  upon  my  plan  of  action." 
The  next  morning  after  his  arrival  in  the  city,  he 
went  to  Mrs.  Justin's  house.  Gray  had  gone  out,  but 
Mrs.  Justin  was  delighted  to  see  him. 

"I  was  afraid,"  she  said,  "that  this  fine  weather 
would  keep  you  in  the  country,  and  it  is  very  encour- 
aging to  see  you  make  your  appearance  so  soon. 
And  as  for  Grayr  I  am  glad  to  say  that  her  condition 
is  improved.  To  be  sure,  she  eats  very  little,  she  is 
easily  tired,  and  she  will  not  take  medicines,  but  since 
she  came  to  the  city  she  is  brighter  and  shows  more 
interest  in  things.  And  I  am  quite  sure,"  said  Mrs. 
Justin,  looking  steadfastly  at  Stratford,  "that  your 
exchange  of  the  pleasures  of  the  autumnal  season  for 
premature  town  life  will  have  a  beneficial  effect  upon 
her." 

There  was  point  to  this  remark,  for  Stratford  was 
an  earnest  sportsman,  and  it  had  hitherto  been  his 
custom  to  invite  some  of  his  friends  to  Cherry  Bridge 
during  the  shooting  season. 

"  I  shall  be  very  glad,"  said  he,  "  if  in  any  way  I 
can  be  of  benefit  to  Miss  Armatt." 

"  Don't  be  so  cold  and  formal ! "  exclaimed  the 
lady.  "  Why  not  look  at  the  matter  in  a  natural  and 
sensible  light?  Gay  has  missed  you,  and  will  be 
ever  so  glad  to  meet  you  again,  and  you  know  that  I 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  365 

shall  be  more  than  glad  to  see  you  together  again. 
Do  you  know  why  she  is  brighter  and  more  cheerful 
than  she  was  ? " 

"  On  account  of  the  change  to  the  city  air,  I  sup- 
pose," he  answered.  "  That  is  often  of  as  much 
advantage  as  change  to  country  air." 

"  It  is  nothing  of  the  sort/'  said  Mrs.  Justin.  "  As 
soon  as  I  decided  that  she  was  to  come  with  me  to 
town  and  not  to  make  her  expected  visit  to  Maryland, 
she  began  to  brighten.  I  know  she  wants  to  see  her 
sister,  but  I  also  know  that  she  wishes  very  much 
more  to  be  with  you,  and  if  she  had  gone  home  she 
probably  would  have  staid  there  until  she  began  her 
post-collegiate  course.  But  now  that  her  health 
obliges  her  to  be  here  with  me,  and,  consequently, 
with  you,  her  conscience  is  satisfied,  and  she  is 
happier." 

Stratford  made  no  reply,  but  turned  to  a  window 
and  looked  out. 

tl  Of  course  you  have  heard,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  after 
a  short  silence,  "that  Mr.  Crisman  is  paying  atten- 
tion to  Miss  Stall.  I  had  the  news  from  Mrs.  People, 
who  wrote  to  me  about  my  winter  supply  of  poultry, 
and  inserted  the  item  as  a  bit  of  flavoring.  She  says 
he  is  there  every  week." 

"I  have  heard  that,"  said  Stratford. 

"  I  must  admit,"  continued  the  lady,  "  that  when  I 
received  this  news  I  was  mortified  that  a  man  could  so 
quickly  turn  from  our  Gay  to  Matilda  Stull.  And 
yet,  upon  thinking  it  over,  I  believe  that  we  ought  to 
feel  rather  satisfied  than  otherwise.  Knowing  as  I  do 
that  Mr.  Crisman  is  totally  unworthy  of  Gay,  I  can- 


366  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

not  but  feel  somewhat  pleased  that  he  has  been  able 
to  compensate  himself  for  any  injury  he  may  imagine 
he  received  at  our  hands." 

Mrs.  Justin  arose,  and  stood  beside  Stratford. 
"  Our  old  ships  are  now  all  behind  us,  and  burned/' 
she  said,  "  and  I  pray  for  the  most  favoring  winds  to 
fill  the  new  sails  which  shall  bring  Gay  and  you  to- 
gether. Now,  don't  say  anything!  That  is  one  of 
the  remarks  to  which  no  answer  is  required." 

When  Stratford  called  the  next  day  he  was  received 
by  Gay  in  the  library,  a  room  which  Mrs.  Justin  now 
almost  entirely  surrendered  to  her  young  friend.  The 
light  from  the  high,  wide  window  fell  full  upon  the 
young  girl  as  she  arose,  bright-eyed,  to  greet  her  visi- 
tor. When  Gay  reseated  herself  upon  the  soft-cush- 
ioned chair,  the  action  showed  a  change  in  her  which 
was  instantly  noticed  by  Stratford.  The  Gay  Armatt 
of  the  old  days  at  Cherry  Bridge  had  never  reclined. 
She  was  a  girl  who  sat  up  straight,  who  moved 
quickly,  whose  presence  suggested  youthful  vigor 
and  activity. 

Stratford  drew  a  low  chair  near  her  and  placed  it 
so  that  he  could  face  her  as  they  talked.  Whatever 
might  be  her  present  lack  of  strength  or  vitality,  it 
had  not  affected  her  beauty.  Never  had  she  seemed 
so  charming  to  the  eyes  of  Stratford.  Her  morning 
dress  of  blue  may  have  relieved  the  delicate  color  in 
her  cheek,  and  brought  out  the  pure  whiteness  of  her 
neck  and  wrists,  arid  the  happy  light  in  her  eyes  may 
have  given  something  of  its  brightness  to  the  smile 
upon  her  perfect  lips,  and  even  her  unwonted  languor 
may  have  infused  new  grace  into  that  half -reclining 
figure  j  but,  whatever  were  the  reasons,  Stratford  now 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  367 

sat  before  a  woman  whose  beauty  fully  satisfied  him. 
He  had  always  given  due  appreciation  to  Gay's  per- 
sonal attractions,  but  heretofore  he  had  felt  that  there 
was  something  wanting,  some  little  touch,  he  knew 
not  what.  That  touch  had  now  been  given. 

"  Do  you  see  this  ? "  said  Gay,  holding  up  a  book 
which  had  been  lying  open  and  face  downward  upon 
a  little  table  at  her  side.  "Perhaps  you  are  not 
familiar  with  this  style  of  literature.  It  is  what  is 
popularly  called  a  novel." 

"  I  am  very  familiar  with  novels,"  said  Stratford, 
"  and  I  have  read  that  one." 

"  And  I  have  read  those/'  said  Gay,  pointing  to  a  pile 
of  books  on  the  floor  by  the  window,  "  and  all  of  them 
in  a  little  more  than  a  week.  I  expected  that  by  this 
time  I  should  be  working  away  in  superheated  mathe- 
matics and  that  sort  of  thing,  but  Mrs.  Justin  has  put 
an  interdict  on  study.  I  do  scarcely  anything  but 
read  novels  and  look  at  clothes.  Whenever  we  go 
out  we  always  go  to  shops,  and,  although  we  don't 
buy  much,  we  have  all  sorts  of  things  spread  out  and 
wonder  how  they  would  look  made  up.  Mrs.  Justin 
says  that  clothes-cogitation  is  very  restful  to  the 
mind." 

"  Does  your  mind  need  rest?"  asked  Stratford. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Gay.  "  My  body  seems  to 
need  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  Mrs.  Justin  says  I  must 
show  no  favoritism ;  one  must  have  just  what  the 
other  gets.  You  see,  I  have  given  up  thinking  for 
myself ;  Mrs.  Justin  does  that  for  me  now." 

"  I  did  not  suppose,"  said  Stratford,  "  that  you 
would  ever  allow  any  one  to  do  your  thinking  for 
you." 


368  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"  Oh,  dear  me  !  "  exclaimed  Gay,  "  you  don't  know 
how  nice  it  is  !  You  ought  to  try  it.  By  the  way/' 
she  added,  with  a  quick  start  of  animation,  "  will  you 
let  me  do  some  thinking  for  you  V 

"It  will  be  something  entirely  novel  to  me/'  said 
Stratford,  "and  I  should  like  it  as  a  bit  of  ex- 
perience." 

"  Well,  then/'  said  Gray,  "  please  empty  your  mind 
of  everything  in  it,  and  I  will  fill  it  for  you.  You 
are  now  thinking  as  follows :  Here  is  a  girl,  or  I 
should  say  a  young  woman,  who  is  not  feeling  so 
much  like  an  English  sparrow  as  she  did  during  the 
summer,  but  is  quite  as  well  and  quite  as  strong  as  a 
good  many  people  who  work  or  study  or  slave  in  all 
sorts  of  ways  all  day  long,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
night  besides.  She  has  a  friend,  a  dear  friend,  who  is 
one  of  the  noblest  women  on  earth,  and  who  is  quite 
as  good  and  lovely  as  it  is  possible  for  any  woman  to 
be,  but  who  has,  in  spite  of  all  this,  a  blot  upon  her 
character.  This  is  that  she  is  too  kind.  It  is  a  white 
blot,  and  a  very  beautiful  one  to  look  at,  but  still  it 
is  a  blot,  and  it  interferes  with  her  ability  to  make  the 
young  person  I  am  thinking  of  do  what  she  ought  to 
do.  She  lets  this  white  blot  spread  itself  over  her 
sober  judgment  and  several  of  her  other  good  quali- 
ties, and  she  tells  this  young  person  that  she  must 
not  do  anything  all  day  that  is  in  the  least  bit  like 
work  or  study.  Now,  I  know  this  is  all  wrong.  That 
girl  would  be  a  great  deal  happier,  and  it  would  be 
ever  so  much  better  for  her  in  every  way,  if  she  were 
to  shut  up  the  novel  she  is  reading,  and  stop  short 
without  knowing  what  happens  next  or  how  it  ends, 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  369 

and  apply  herself  to  matters  that  are  of  importance 
and  value;  and  if  she  takes  up  again  those  things 
which  are  the  real  object  of  her  life  she  will  become 
as  much  interested  in  them  as  she  used  to  be,  and  will 
pay  no  attention  to  those  little  tired  feelings  which 
soon  grow  up  into  incurable  laziness  if  one  is  not 
very  careful.  Now,  I  shall  talk  to  that  young  person 
and  make  her  see  these  things  as  I  do.  I  don't  think 
it  will  be  at  all  difficult.  I  shall  tell  her  that  if  she 
continues  in  her  present  indolent  condition  she  will 
get  rusty  in  the  studies  she  has  been  working  at  this 
summer,  and  if  she  goes  backward  instead  of  keeping 
straight  on,  as  I  am  sure  her  soul  is  longing  to  do, 
I  really  do  not  know  what  will  become  of  her.  I  am 
quite  certain  she  will  take  my  advice,  because  she  has 
the  greatest  confidence  in  my  judgment.  And  indeed, 
considering  how  I  have  helped  her  and  counseled  her, 
and  in  all  sorts  of  ways  been  of  the  greatest  good  and 
service  to  her,  she  must  be  horribly  stupid  if  she  don't 
know  by  this  time  that  what  I  advise  she  ought  to 
do.  There  is  another  reason,  too,  why  I  should  advise 
her.  If  I  sit  and  look  at  her  reading  novels  and 
neglecting  her  duties  and  cultivating  habits  of  lazi- 
ness, and  say  nothing  about  it,  I  shall  make  her 
think  that,  though  I  must  disapprove  of  what  she 
is  doing,  I  am  keeping  quiet  merely  because  she  is 
not  quite  well  and  ought  to  be  treated  like  a  child  or 
an  invalid.  Now,  I  know  that  this  will  grieve  her 
very  much,  and  so  I  shall  speak  out,  and  tell  her  that 
she  ought  to  take  up  her  work  just  where  she  put  it 
down  when  she  left  Cherry  Bridge,  and  I  shall  also 
tell  her  that  when  I  can — that  is  to  say,  of  course, 


370  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

not  so  often  as  I  used  to  do  in  the  country,  but  at  times 
when  it  will  not  interfere  with  anything  else  I  want 
to  do — I  will  come  and  help  her,  and  give  her  little 
hints  about  all  sorts  of  things,  just  as  I  did  when  we 
were  in  the  country  together.  And  now,  sir,"  said 
Gay,  who  by  this  time  was  sitting  up  straight  in  her 
chair,  her  face  slightly  flushed  and  every  trace  of  lan- 
guor gone,  "  how  do  you  like  your  train  of  thought  ?  " 

While  Gray  had  been  speaking,  Stratford  had  sat 
gazing  upon  her.  He  had  heard  nearly  all  she  had 
said,  but  some  phrases  here  and  there  had  escaped 
his  attention,  because  his  mind  was  so  busily  at  work 
for  itself.  "  Do  I  love  this  beautiful  girl  ? "  he  asked 
himself,  as  Gray's  words  gave  to  his  mind  a  vision  of 
one  who  extends  her  hands  to  a  friend  without  in- 
tending or  knowing  that  those  outstretched  arms 
may,  instead,  receive  a  lover. 

As  Stratford  thus  sat,  thinking  and  listening,  one 
of  his  arms  hung  over  the  side  of  his  low  chair,  and 
as  he  unconsciously  moved  his  hand  his  fingers 
touched  a  bow  of  ribbon  on  one  of  the  folds  of  Gay's 
dress  which  lay  upon  the  floor.  Entirely  unnoticed 
by  her,  he  took  an  end  of  the  ribbon  between  his 
thumb  and  finger  and  gently  held  and  pressed  it. 
This  was  on  Gay ;  it  was  a  part  of  her ;  it  was  a  link 
between  him  and  that  beautiful  creature  flushing  and 
warming  before  him.  Through  that  bit  of  blue  ribbon 
might  pass  an  electric  thrill  which  should  change  his 
being  and  make  him  blind  to  extended  hands,  seeing 
only  outstretched  arms. 

He  crumpled  the  ribbon  in  his  fingers,  his  blood 
flowed  quicker,  and  his  eye  grew  brighter.  "  I  could 
love  her/'  he  said  to  himself. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  371 

Gay  went  on  talking.  She  was  making  him  know 
now  how  much  she  depended  on  him,  and  how  desirous 
she  was  for  his  society.  She  was  sitting  erect,  and 
therefore  nearer  to  him,  but  her  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
his  face,  and  she  knew  not  that  he  held  her  ribbon. 
"  I  could  love  her,"  he  repeated  to  himself.  Then  his 
mind  stopped,  and  began  to  work  backward.  "  But 
if  I  do  love  her/7  he  thought,  "  I  shall  never  love  my- 
self again.  I  have  sworn  that  I  would  do  this  thing, 
and  that  I  would  go  through  it  without  blame  or 
blemish ;  and,  to  me,  the  purest  love  of  this  girl  would 
be  blame  and  blemish.'7 

He  dropped  the  ribbon  from  between  his  fingers, 
and  placed  his  hand  upon  the  arm  of  his  chair. 

"  And  now,  sir,7'  said  Gay,  "  how  do  you  like  your 
train  of  thought  ? 77 

Stratford  answered  slowly.  "  I  am  not  sure/7  he 
said,  "  but  that  it  might  be  of  advantage  for  you  to 
take  up  your  studies  again ;  at  least  to  a  moderate 
extent.  At  any  rate,  as  you  so  much  desire  it,  it  may 
be  well  to  make  the  trial.  Of  course  I  shall  be  much 
pleased  to  drop  in  here  from  time  to  time  and  give 
you  all  the  assistance  that  I  can/7 

Then,  after  some  inquiries  in  regard  to  Mrs.  Justin, 
and  some  messages  for  her,  he  took  leave  of  Gay, 
and  went  away  with  a  cold  face  and  a  hot  and 
troubled  heart. 

"  My  work  is  done,77  he  said  to  himself.  u  Yes,77  he 
reasserted,  as  he  clinched  his  fist,  "  it  is  done,  done, 
done ! 77 

When  Mrs.  Justin  returned  home,  she  disapproved 
entirely  of  what  Gay  told  her  Mr.  Stratford  had 


372  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

advised.  Indeed  she  spoke  a  little  petulantly  about 
it.  "  I  cannot  imagine  what  he  could  have  been  think- 
ing of,"-  she  said.  "  Instead  of  being  well  enough  to 
study,  you  seem  to  me  to  be  less  able  to  endure  any 
sort  of  work  than  you  were  some  days  ago.  I  shall 
allow  no  studying ;  you  may  be  sure  of  that." 

Gay  was  lying  back  in  the  library  chair,  her  novel 
in  her  lap,  open  at  the  same  pages  which  had  been 
turned  down  on  the  table  when  Stratford  had  left  her 
an  hour  before.  "  You  mustn't  find  fault  with  Mr. 
Stratford,"  she  said.  "  I  advised  him  to  advise  me  as 
he  did,  and  I  told  him  I  hoped  he  would  sometimes 
come  and  help  me  in  the  old  way.  He  said  he  would, 
and  I  don't  think  he  minded  the  trouble  at  all.  I 
don't  think  he  minded  much  either  way.  He  is 
always  very  good." 

"  Gay,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "  have  you  been  talking  a 
very  great  deal  ?  Why  do  you  close  your  eyes  in  that 
way  while  you  speak  to  me  ? " 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Gay.  "  I  can't  explain  exactly 
how  I  feel.  I  am  not  hungry ;  I  can't  think  of  any- 
thing in  particular  that  I  care  for.  I  have  been  trying 
to  rouse  myself  up  by  thinking  how  I  am  wasting  my 
time,  but  I  don't  believe  I  care  just  now  whether  I 
am  wasting  my  time  or  not.  I  don't  know  exactly 
why,  but  this  world  seems  to  me  an  aimless  sort  of 
place." 

Mrs.  Justin  gazed  tenderly  and  kindly  on  the  face 
of  her  young  friend.  "  But  it  would  be  an  easy  mat- 
ter, my  dear,  to  make  it  a  world  full  of  purpose." 

"I  suppose  so,"  answered  Gay,  closing  her  eyes 
again  as  she  languidly  clasped  her  hands  above  her 
head. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 


was  now  enjoying  what 
might  be  called  a  regenerated  success. 
The  total  cessation  of  business  dur- 
ing the  alterations  had  given  the 
public  time  to  forget  all  about  the 
boycotting  troubles  as  well  as  the 
decadence  of  the  establishment  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Enoch  Bullripple,  while  the  great  improve- 
ments now  seen  in  the  restaurant  brought  it  not  only 
its  old  customers  but  an  abundance  of  new  ones. 
The  cooks,  in  their  caps,  baked,  boiled,  and  broiled 
with  enthusiasm  and  content  ;  the  waiters,  in  their 
jackets  and  aprons,  gave  solicitous  attention  to  the 
desires  of  every  comer;  and  John  People  stood  be- 
hind his  new  desk,  with  his  form  as  round,  his  carriage 
as  upright,  and  his  hair  as  smoothly  brushed  as  of 
yore.  But  upon  his  brow  there  was  more  of  cheer- 
fulness and  less  of  resignation.  Some  of  this  change 
arose  from  the  fact  that  John  was  now  a  partner 
in  the  concern  —  a  partner  in  a  very  small  degree 
in  fact,  but  still  a  partner  5  and  it  was  not  neces- 
sary to  be  so  much  resigned  when  what  he  did 
was  partly  for  his  own  benefit.  It  is  probable, 
although  John  would  not  have  admitted  it,  that  his 
increase  of  cheerfulness  was  due  in  a  very  great  part 
32  3?3 


374  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

to  his  total  loss  of  Matilda  Stull.  John's  attachment 
to  this  young  lady  had  been  very  wearing  upon  him. 
When  hope  lent  him  no  assistance  his  progress  was 
slow  and  painful,  and  when  she  gave  him  a  helping- 
hand  she  carried  him  along  entirely  too  fast  j  he  lost 
his  breath,  his  legs  became  weak.  It  was  well  for 
him  that  he  was  stopped  in  time  ;  now  his  breath  was 
full  and  regular,  his  pace  moderate,  and  his  legs  were 
strong. 

There  was  a  new  refrigerator,  and  in  one  corner 
there  frequently  stood  a  plate  containing  a  plump, 
fat  mutton-chop,  a  piece  of  tenderloin,  or  a  choice 
veal-cutlet ;  seldom  did  it  hold  a  sweet-bread  or  bit 
of  dainty  game,  for  Miss  Burns  was  the  owner  of  a 
vigorous  appetite  and  a  moderate  purse.  This  young 
lady  was  now  an  habitual  customer  of  Vatoldi's. 
There  was  something  about  the  place  which  made  a 
meal  in  any  other  restaurant  extremely  unsatisfactory 
to  her ;  and  if,  for  any  reason,  a  day  passed  without 
her  coming  there,  John  was  sure  to  drop  in  at  the 
store  and  inquire  about  her  health. 

Miss  Burns  enjoyed  more  than  the  ordinary  advan- 
tages of  Vatoldi's,  for  John  made  it  his  business  to 
see  that  her  preference  for  that  place  was  not  detri- 
mental to  her  fortune.  From  the  amount  due  on  the 
little  bill  which  she  presented  to  him  he  invariably 
deducted  a  certain  percentage.  To  this  the  young 
lady  frequently  demurred  and  shook  her  head,  but 
John,  who  had  always  something  else  to  do,  and  who 
was  not  in  the  habit  of  talking  much  to  customers  at 
the  desk,  passed  over  her  objections  with  a  smile  and 
gave  his  attention  to  the  something  else.  Miss  Burns 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  376 

would  have  demurred  still  more  had  she  known  that 
John  never  failed  to  make  up  the  deficit  in  her  pay- 
ments out  of  his  own  pocket.  She  ought  to  have 
supposed  this,  but  young  ladies  who  are  thinking  of 
Johns  do  not  always  think  of  everything  else. 

The  time  came,  however,  when  John  felt  that  he 
must  explain  this  financial  method ;  and  one  evening, 
when  the  diners  at  Vatoldi's  had  all  finished  their 
meals,  he  called  on  Miss  Burns  at  her  boarding-house. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  John,  when  he  had  explained 
the  object  of  his  visit,  "that  you  ever  thought  it 
worth  while  to  say  anything  about  those  little  dis- 
counts, for  the  matter  is  really  of  no  consequence  at 
all.  You  see,  I  have  a  share  in  the  business." 

"Oh,  yes/'  said  Miss  Burns,  "I  always  supposed 
that." 

"  Yes/'  said  John,  "  and  people  have  thought  I 
owned  a  good  deal  bigger  part  of  it  than  is  really  the 
truth.  But  that's  neither  here  nor  there,  and  don't 
hurt  anybody.  Now,  it  is  to  my  interest  to  make  the 
restaurant  as  pleasant  a  place  as  I  can  to  everybody, 
and  if  I  have  any  particular  friend  who  finds  it  con- 
venient to  come  there,  I'm  sure  I  ought  to  make  it 
pleasant  for  her.  And  I  leave  it  to  yourself  to  say  if 
it  is  not  pleasanter  to  feel  that  you're  partly  taking 
lunch  with  a  friend  —  not  entirely,  for  perhaps  you 
wouldn't  do  that,  but  partly  —  than  to  always  sit 
down  to  an  out-and-out  bought  meal  ?  " 

Miss  Burns  was  crocheting  an  afghan.  It  was  a 
good-sized  one,  big  enough  to  cover  a  lounge  which 
would  be  long  enough  for  a  gentleman  to  lie  down 
upon.  She  got  the  wools  at  cost  price  from  the  store 


376  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

in  which  she  was  employed,  and  could,  therefore,  af- 
ford to  make  a  fine  large  afghan.  It  had  three  plain 
dark  green  stripes,  and  two  Roman  stripes  of  bright 
and  variegated  colors.  She  was  working  on  one  of 
the  Roman  stripes  now. 

"  That  would  be  very  nice,"  she  said,  "  if  one  came 
to  visit,  but  then  you  know  I  don't  come  to  visit  you." 

John  was  about  to  ask,  "Not  even  partly?"  but, 
being  a  slow  speaker,  he  had  time  to  think  that  it 
would  not  do  to  intimate  anything  like  that. 

"  And  you  know,"  continued  Miss  Burns,  working 
a  thread  of  dark  blue  into  her  stripe,  "  that  it  isn't 
right  to  have  a  gentleman  regularly  giving  you  things, 
especially  your  daily  food  5  though,  of  course,  you 
only  do  it  partly ;  but  that  is  what  it  comes  to." 

John  passed  his  hand  over  his  brow,  and  then  turn- 
ing his  chair  so  as  more  directly  to  face  Miss  Burns, 
he  put  his  right  elbow  upon  the  table  at  which  they 
sat,  and,  intently  gazing  into  her  face  as  he  spoke, 
he  said :  "I  am  sorry  your  mind  is  made  up  in  such 
a  way  that  you  don't  like  to  accept  a  little  hospital- 
ity from  a  friend,  not  because  of  what  it  is,  for  it 
really  amounts  to  nothing  at  all,  but  only  because 
it  comes  regular.  But  what  would  you  say  to  a 
friend  who  would  give  you  not  only  part  of  your 
lunch,  but  all  of  it  ?  And  not  only  your  lunch,  but 
your  breakfast  and  dinner,  and  a  supper  too  if  you 
were  inclined  that  way ;  and  not  only  week  days,  but 
Sundays,  and  every  day;  and  who  would  give  you, 
besides,  every  frock  you  wore,  your  shoes,  your  bon- 
nets, gloves,  umbrellas,  and  trimmings,  and  every- 
thing needful  from  hair-pins  to  cloaks  ?  " 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  377 

As  John  spoke  thus,  Miss  Burns's  complexion, 
which  was  usually  a  little  pallid,  began  to  assume  the 
hue  of  some  pale  pink  wool  which  lay  in  her  basket, 
but  she  did  not  speak,  nor  look  up  from  her  work, 
and  John  went  on  : 

"And  what  would  you  say  if,  every  time  you 
wanted  anything,  whether  it  was  to  wear,  or  to  eat, 
or  to  use  in  a  house,  or  for  sickness  or  health,  or  for 
journeys,  or  for  friends  in  trouble,  or  for  your  own 
pleasures  and  joys  and  comforts,  you  went  to  this 
friend  and  you  took  them  from  him  ? " 

Miss  Burns's  complexion  had  been  gradually  chang- 
ing from  the  color  of  the  pink  wool  to  that  of  a  ball 
of  ashen  gray  hue  which  also  lay  in  the  basket.  A 
sickening  fear  came  over  her  that  she  might  have 
mistaken  the  significance  of  John's  words. 

"  Do  you  mean  Providence  ? "  she  asked. 

"  No,  me,"  said  John. 

The  color  of  the  brightest  scarlet  in  Miss  Burns's 
basket  now  flushed  into  her  face.  "  That  would  be 
very  nice,"  she  presently  said  ;  and  no  Berlin  wool 
could  be  softer  than  her  tone. 

JOHN  PEOPLE  was  a  straightforward  man  of  busi- 
ness with  a  conscience,  and  when  everything  had 
been  satisfactorily  arranged  between  Miss  Burns  and 
himself,  he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  inform  his  principal 
that  he  was  going  to  be  married.  Seldom  before  had 
Mr.  Stull  been  so  thoroughly  angry.  John  had  been 
forgiven  for  the  sins  of  his  uncle  and  had  been  again 
taken  into  dignified  favor,  but  the  vile  and  treacherous 
action  which  he  now  proposed  raised  against  him  the 


378  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

wildest  storm  of  Mr.  StulFs  indignation.  What  would 
a  secret  be  worth  —  an  overwhelmingly  important 
secret  —  in  the  hands  of  a  newly  married  man  !  With 
John  as  a  bachelor  —  and  Mr.  Stull  expected  that  his 
sense  of  honor  and  duty  to  his  employer  would  keep 
him  such  —  the  secret  was  safe;  but  with  a  young 
wife  secrecy  might  as  well  be  blown  to  the  winds  and 
the  bank  president  advertise  in  the  daily  papers  that 
he  was  prepared  to  furnish  the  public  with  refresh- 
ments at  his  restaurant  known  as  Vatoldi's.  John's 
intentions  might  be  honorable,  but  his  wife  would 
worm  the  secret  out  of  him,  and  the  world  would  soon 
know  all.  Better  that  John  should  die  than  marry ! 
Had  Mr.  Stull  lived  two  hundred  years  before,  he 
would  have  slain  his  manager  on  the  spot. 

This  blow  to  Mr.  Stull  was  aggravated  by  the  fact 
that  his  mind  was  beginning  to  assume  its  normal 
condition  of  august  tranquillity.  All  his  branches  of 
business  were  now  proceeding  to  his  entire  satisfac- 
tion, and  Enoch  Bullripple,  the  only  present  thorn  in 
his  side,  promised  soon  to  become  an  insignificant 
prickle.  The  Western  heirs  of  the  Cherry  Bridge  farms 
had  been  informed  of  the  nature  of  their  claims,  and 
Mr.  Turby,  who  desired  to  act  as  their  agent  as  well  as 
that  of  Mr.  Stull,  had  written  to  them  that  there  was 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  matter  could  be  set- 
tled with  but  little  loss  of  time  and  the  sale  of  the 
property  ordered  for  the  benefit  of  the  heirs.  Mr. 
StulPs  plans  were  all  made.  He  would  buy  both 
farms,  not  in  his  own  name,  but  in  that  of  a  Mineral 
Development  Company  which  he  would  organize.  In 
the  course  of  time  this  purchase  would  probably 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  379 

prove  a  good  investment.  Enoch  Bullripple  would 
be  ejected  from  the  farm  he  now  held,  but,  as  he  pos- 
sessed Mr.  StulPs  secret,  his  subsequent  treatment 
must  be  very  prudently  managed.  Mr.  Stull  owned 
some  Western  lands,  and  he  would  sell  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple  a  small  tract  of  these,  securing  himself  by 
mortgage.  He  would  then,  if  necessary,  assist  the 
old  man  to  go  out  there  and  settle.  The  motive 
for  this  great  generosity  would  be  ascribed  to  Mr. 
StulPs  interest  in  John  People.  With  Enoch  Bull- 
ripple  out  in  Idaho,  and  under  obligation,  Mr.  Stull 
would  feel  that  he  had  punished  the  cunning  villainy 
of  the  old  farmer  without  endangering  his  secret. 

But  now  John's  announcement  had  banished  every 
trace  of  august  tranquillity.  Mr.  StulPs  anger  almost 
overcame  him.  Anathemas,  reproaches,  and  denun- 
ciations crowded  to  his  lips,  but  in  the  midst  of  his 
indignation  he  felt  the  necessity  for  prudence.  Even 
so  faithful  a  worm  as  John  might  turn. 

"  I  shall  say  nothing  to  you  now/7  he  growled  ;  "  I 
will  speak  about  this  another  time." 

It  would  have  been  utterly  impossible  for  Miss 
Matilda  Stull  to  choose  a  more  unsuitable  moment 
than  the  evening  of  that  day  in  which  to  announce 
to  her  father  her  engagement  to  Mr.  Crisman.  Mr. 
Stull  was  in  the  library  of  his  spacious  city  mansion, 
a  room  furnished  with  everything  that  the  library  of 
a  gentleman  of  wealth  and  culture  should  contain. 
The  books  on  the  shelves  were  most  admirably 
selected,  many  of  them  being  imported  expressly  for 
Mr.  Stull,  as  he  declined  to  introduce  reprints  into  his 
library.  The  furniture  was  heavy  and  elegant.  The 


380  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

walls,  the  floors,  the  windows,  showed  that  the  room 
had  been  furnished  with  thoughtful  taste.  Even 
those  things  with  which  a  gentleman  solaces  himself 
in  the  intervals  of  study  were  not  forgotten ;  on  a 
pair  of  stag's  horns  over  the  mantelpiece  hung  sev- 
eral handsome  pipes,  and  an  Eastern  jar  filled  with 
tobacco  stood  beneath  them ;  through  the  glass  doors 
of  a  buffet  which  stood  in  a  corner  could  be  seen 
decanters  and  glasses  ;  and  between  two  framed  en- 
gravings of  hunting-scenes  hung  a  pair  of  fencing- 
foils  and  wire  masks;  while  from  a  nickel-plated 
hook  was  suspended  flat  against  the  wall  a  large 
hammock  of  rare  and  beautiful  workmanship  which 
might  be  stretched  to  another  nickel-plated  hook  in 
the  opposite  wall. 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  these  appurtenances  of  elegant 
and  comfortable  studiousness,  this  was  a  room  to  be 
looked  at,  but  not  used.  Mr.  Stull  was  content  to 
own  his  books ;  he  did  not  care  to  read  them,  and  the 
cases  were  always  locked.  He  did  not  smoke,  and 
the  pipes  on  the  stag's  horns  had  never  been  used. 
He  tasted  wine  or  spirits  only  on  rare  occasions,  and 
not  a  drop  of  their  contents  had  ever  been  poured 
from  the  decanters  in  his  buffet.  He  was  not  a 
fencer,  and  the  foils  and  masks  were  fastened  to  the 
wall.  He  was  a  man  who  did  not  lounge,  and  the 
hammock  on  the  hook  was  never  stretched  to  _  the 
opposite  wall.  The  room  was  furnished  so  as  to 
appear  as  Mr.  Stull  thought  a  gentleman's  library 
and  study  ought  to  appear,  but  he  used  no  part  of  it 
except  a  small  table  under  a  gaslight,  with  a  drawer 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  381 

in  which  he  kept  writing  materials,  and  a  leather- 
covered  chair  which  always  stood  before  it. 

In  this  chair,  and  at  this  table,  sat  Mr.  Stull 
when  his  daughter  entered  the  room.  Paper  lay 
before  him,  and  he  had  a  pen  in  his  hand,  but  he  was 
not  writing;  he  was  savagely  thinking,  and  endeavor- 
ing to  form  a  plan  of  action  in  regard  to  John  Peo- 
ple. Miss  Matilda  saw  that  her  father  was  in  a  very 
bad  humor,  and  yet  she  did  not  hesitate  in  her  pur- 
pose. She  had  not  come  to  ask  anything  of  her 
august  parent ;  she  had  come  to  tell  him  something. 

Mr.  Stull  looked  up  darkly,  and  encountered  the 
somewhat  petite  but  extremely  well-formed  features 
of  Miss  Matilda,  upon  which  an  expression  of  calm 
determination  seemed  to  have  been  set  and  screwed. 
Without  a  preface,  and  with  no  sign  of  embarrass- 
ment, she  briefly  announced  the  fact  that  she  and  Mr. 
Charles  Crisman,  now  in  business  in  the  mercantile 
house  of  Irkton,  Perrysteer  &  Co.,  had  made  an 
engagement  to  marry  each  other. 

Mr.  Stull  pushed  back  his  chair  with  an  impreca- 
tion which  seldom  fell  from  his  dignified  lips.  "What 
do  you  mean  ?"  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  mean  exactly  what  I  have  said,"  answered  his 
daughter  Matilda. 

Now  rose  J.  Weatherby  Stull  in  his  wrath.  In  one 
day  two  persons,  wholly  dependent  on  him  for  every- 
thing they  had  in  the  world,  had  come  to  him  and 
declared  their  intention  of  making  unlawful  marriages, 
for  to  him  a  marriage  against  his  will  was  unlawful. 
To  the  first  offender  he  had,  as  yet,  said  nothing  or 


382  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

done  nothing ;  but  in  this  case,  no  caution,  no  pru- 
dence was  necessary,  and  he  launched  upon  his 
daughter  the  paternal  thunder.  He  bade  her  never 
to  mention  again  to  him  this  stranger  of  whom  she 
had  spoken.  He  forbade  her  ever  to  speak  to,  or  to 
write  to,  or  even  to  think  of,  said  stranger;  and 
he  ordered  her  to  her  room,  there  to  remain  until 
he  had  determined  how  she  should  be  punished, 
and  where  she  should  be  sent  to  be  cured  of  this 
most  unnatural,  most  disrespectful,  and  most  atro- 
cious folly. 

Miss  Stull  declined  to  do  any  of  these  things. 

Mr.  Stull  arose.  "  Do  you  wish  me  to  take  you  by 
force  to  your  room?  Am  I  to  be  driven  crazy  by 
members  of  my  family  and  by  hirelings  ?  Am  I  to 
hear  twice  a  day  that  these  dependents  upon  me  in- 
tend, without  my  permission,  and  against  my  will,  to 
marry  ? n 

"  Was  the  other  one  John  People  ? "  asked  Miss 
Matilda. 

Mr.  Stull  sat  down  as  if  he  had  been  shot. 

"  John  People ! "  he  gasped.    "  What  is  he  to  me  ? " 

"  He  manages  your  restaurant,'7  calmly  replied  his 
daughter,  "and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  he 
wants  to  marry." 

Mr.  Stull  sat  and  looked  steadfastly  at  his  daughter. 
Not  a  word  did  he  speak,  and  it  might  almost  be  said 
not  a  thought  did  he  think.  His  involuntary  muscles 
and  functions  went  on  with  their  work,  but  every 
faculty,  physical  or  mental,  over  which  he  ordinarily 
exercised  volition  was  at  a  standstill.  In  only  one 
way  did  he  give  any  evidence  of  his  ordinary  reason- 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  383 

ing  powers.    He  presently  turned  to  look  towards 
the  library  door. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  said  Miss  Matilda.  "I  shut 
it  when  I  came  in.  I  intended  to  speak  of  this 
restaurant  business  before  long,"  she  went  on  to  say, 
"  and  I  may  as  well  do  it  now  as  at  any  other  time, 
for  it  is  a  matter  which  concerns  Mr.  Crisman  and 
myself  as  much  as  it  does  you.  I  began  to  suspect 
you  had  something  to  do  with  Vatoldi's  when  you 
used  so  often  to  urge  mother  and  me  to  go  there,  and 
made  a  point  of  it  especially  on  those  days  when  you 
knew  we  were  going  shopping  with  the  carriage. 
Mother  never  thought  anything  about  it,  but  it  struck 
me  that  you  wouldn't  take  so  much  interest  in  a  place 
of  that  sort  if  you  didn't  make  something  out  of  it. 
At  first  I  supposed  you  had  merely  put  some  money 
into  the  concern,  but  I  got  into  the  habit  of  watching 
you  when  you  were  sitting  in  your  regular  place  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  room  where  you  could  see  every- 
thing, and  if  ever  a  man  looked  like  the  proprietor 
of  an  establishment,  you  looked  like  the  proprietor 
of  Vatoldi's.  I  remember  one  day  that  two  young 
men  came  in  and  sat  down  with  their  hats  on,  and 
John  People  was  so  busy  he  didn't  see  them ;  but  you 
looked  at  him  just  as  you  look  at  our  two  little  girls 
in  church,  and  the  instant  he  caught  your  eye  you 
told  him,  just  as  plainly  as  if  you  had  spoken,  to 
attend  to  those  two  men,  which  he  immediately  did. 
And  then,  when  the  strike  began  there,  and  the  boy- 
cotting, and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  I  saw  how  you 
were  troubled,  that  stamped  and  sealed  the  matter  in 
my  mind.  I  knew  very  well  that  you  would  never 


384  THE  HUNDEEDTH  MAN. 

concern  nor  worry  yourself  so  much  about  a  business 
that  didn't  belong  to  you.  Still  I  didn't  know  whether 
you  were  only  a  partner  or  sole  proprietor,  but  when 
I  saw  John  People  up  in  the  country  this  summer,  I 
asked  him  if  the  restaurant  belonged  to  one  person 
or  a  firm,  and  he  answered,  'One  person/  and  im- 
mediately changed  the  conversation.  He  had  no  idea 
what  his  words  meant  to  me,  but  he  might  just  as 
well  have  said,  l  Your  father  is  the  proprietor.7  I  kept 
this  little  bit  of  knowledge  entirely  to  myself,  know- 
ing it  would  be  of  use  some  day.  I  think  it  is  the 
first  really  valuable  possession  I  ever  acquired  entirely 
by  my  own  exertions,  and  I  am  sure  it  comes  in  very 
well  now.  If  you  had  not  shown  so  much  objection 
to  my  marriage  with  Mr.  Crisman,  I  should  not  have 
mentioned  it  at  present.  But  I  should  have  spoken 
of  it  before  long,  so  it  does  not  matter.  I  won't  say 
anything  more  this  evening,  but  will  leave  you  to 
think  over  the  subject  of  my  engagement.  I  will  say, 
though,  that  Mr.  Crisman  is  a  very  genteel  and  stylish 
young  gentleman,  and  that  mother  is  entirely  satisfied 
with  him.  You  know  the  house  he  is  in  is  one  of  the 
best  in  the  city,  and  there  isn't  a  speck  of  fault  of  any 
kind  to  be  found  with  him.  As  to  money,  he  can 
make  it  fast  enough  if  he  is  properly  helped." 

With  this  remark  Miss  Matilda  left  the  room. 

What  was  in  Mr.  Stull's  mind  during  the  next 
three  days  nobody  knew.  Even  his  wife,  although 
she  saw  that  the  soul  of  her  consort  was  a  storm- 
center  of  passion,  heard  nothing  from  him  except  an 
occasional  thunder-clap  of  indignation  concerning 
her  complicity  in  Matilda's  engagement.  That  there 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  385 

was  some  reason  greater  than  this  for  the  wrath  that 
raged  within  him  was  plain  enough  to  her,  but  she  had 
no  idea  what  it  was,  and  her  daughter  would  not  tell  her. 

To  Miss  Matilda,  her  father  spoke  not  a  word  dur- 
ing this  period.  He  ignored  her.  He  did  not  even 
look  at  her.  In  fact,  he  had  very  little  to  say  to 
any  one.  When  he  was  at  home  he  shut  himself 
up  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  his  library, 
and  when  John  came  to  him  at  the  bank  he  spoke 
as  few  words  as  possible,  and  made  no  allusion  to 
his  manager's  intended  marriage.  John  was  con- 
tent to  wait  awhile  for  his  employer's  decision,  but 
he  had  determined,  no  matter  what  the  decision 
might  be,  that  he  would  marry  Miss  Burns. 

But  Matilda  was  of  a  different  turn  of  mind.  She 
was  not  willing  to  wait  more  than  three  days  for  a 
decision  concerning  her  affairs.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  she  went  to  her  father's  study,  where  she  knew 
he  had  shut  himself  up.  When  she  entered  she 
closed  the  door  quickly  behind  her  and  stood  by  it, 
her  hand  still  on  the  knob.  Her  father  on  seeing  her 
sprang  so  suddenly  to  his  feet  that  he  nearly  over- 
turned the  table  before  him. 

"  Now,  don't  shout  out  anything,  father,"  she  said, 
"  for  old  Miss  Manderson  is  in  the  parlor  with  mother, 
and  if  you  begin  that  way  I  shall  open  the  door,  and 
if  she  hears  you  abusing  your  daughter  the  whole 
church  will  soon  know  it.  As  you  won't  speak  to  me, 
I  have  come  to  speak  to  you.  I  have  been  thinking 
over  this  matter,  and  I  have  worked  out  in  my  mind 
the  very  best  things  that  you  can  do.  In  the  first 
place,  you  must  give  up  that  restaurant  business;  it 
33 


386  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

isn't  fair  to  me,  nor  to  Mr.  Crisman,  nor  to  mother 
and  the  girls,  nor  to  yourself,  for  that  matter,  that 
you  should  keep  it  any  longer.  The  secret  is  sure  to 
be  found  out,  and  very  soon,  if  John  People  gets 
married,  which  I  know  he  will,  and  think  he  ought  to, 
besides,  for  the  young  woman  is  very  suitable.  I  have 
bought  things  of  her  several  times  in  order  to  find 
out  what  sort  of  person  she  is.  If  that  restaurant 
matter  is  made  public  while  you  are  still  in  the  busi- 
ness it  will  ruin  us  all  as  far  as  society  is  concerned, 
and  you  have  no  right  to  bring  anything  of  that  kind 
upon  Mr.  Crisman  and  me,  to  say  nothing  of  your 
wife  and  two  young  daughters.  I  don't  want  to  seem 
hard,  but  I  have  got  to  speak  the  truth.  If  it  is  found 
out  after  you  are  out  of  the  business  it  will  be  bad 
enough,  but  it  will  be  a  different  affair.  I  know  very 
well  that  in  this  city  it  doesn't  matter  much  what  a 
man  has  been,  but  it  matters  very  much  indeed  what  he 
is.  You  can  either  sell  out  to  John  People,  or  to  some- 
body else,  and  take  a  mortgage  on  what  he  can't  pay 
cash  for,  so  you  will  still  have  an  income  from  the 
place  without  having  anything  to  do  with  it.  And 
the  sooner  you  get  rid  of  it,  the  safer  and  better  it 
will  be  for  us  all." 

During  this  speech  Mr.  Stull  had  remained  stand- 
ing, and  at  two  or  three  points  his  lips  and  face  had 
moved  as  if  the  provocation  to  speak  had  been 
stronger  than  the  resolution  he  had  taken  to  hold  no 
converse  with  this  unnatural  daughter ;  but,  as  was 
usually  the  case  with  him,  his  resolution  triumphed, 
and  he  remained  sternly  silent.  No  one  but  his 
daughter  Matilda  could  have  forced  a  communication 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  387 

of  any  kind  upon  him,  but  he  knew  well  that  unless 
he  was  willing  to  take  the  consequences  of  a  very  dis- 
agreeable scene, —  which  he  was  not, —  he  would  be 
obliged  to  listen  to  her. 

There  was  another  reason  why,  in  spite  of  the  rage 
which  boiled  within  him,  he  stood  and  listened  to  his 
daughter :  he  was  keenly  interested  in  what  she  was 
saying. 

Miss  Matilda  continued :  "  As  for  Mr.  Crisman  and 
me,  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  consider  that  matter  as 
settled,  because,  having  made  up  my  mind  to  marry 
him,  of  course  I  shall  do  it.  If  you  ever  intend  to 
give  me  any  money  at  all,  there  can  be  no  better  way 
to  do  it  than  to  let  Mr.  Crisman  have  it,  and  put  it 
into  his  business  and  be  made  a  partner.  He  told  me 
that  the  ( Co.7  is  composed  of  persons  belonging  to  the 
house  who  have  been  taken  in,  in  that  way,  and  he 
says  a  partnership  is  open  to  him  whenever  he  has 
the  money.  That  will  not  only  help  me  to  become  a 
rich  woman,  but  will  also  give  me  a  position  in  soci- 
ety, for  being  the  wife  of  a  partner  in  a  leading  mer- 
cantile firm  is  very  different  from  being  the  wife  of  a 
mere  salesman.  And  you  know  that  my  position  in 
society  will  be  as  much  to  you  and  all  the  family  as  it 
is  to  me.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say,  and  if  you  have 
made  up  your  mind  not  to  speak  to  me  for  a  week,  I 
don't  object  to  waiting  for  the  three  or  four  days  that 
are  left;  but  if  it  is  for  a  longer  time  than  that,  you'd 
better  write  to  me  what  you  decide  to  do.  And  now 
111  go  and  send  somebody  to  see  if  she  can  clean  the 
carpet  of  that  ink  which  you  didn't  know  you  spilled 
when  you  jumped  up  so  suddenly.7' 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

N  several  occasions,  moderately  near 
each  other,  Mr.  Stratford  went  to  see 
Gay  Armatt,  and,  together,  they  took 
up  the  old  books  and  studies.  But 
the  reading  and  the  discussing  did  not 
go  on  in  the  old  way.  Gay  had  lost 
her  interest  in  her  work  and  in  her  future,  and  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  that  she  had  had  aspirations.  If 
study  did  not  actually  tire  her  or  bore  her,  at  least 
the  earnest  enthusiasm  with  which  she  used  to  pursue 
it  was  entirely  gone.  Stratford  was  not  slow  to  see 
this,  and  gradually,  and  always  with  sufficient  reason, 
he  lengthened  the  intervals  between  his  visits  to  Gay ; 
and  then,  taking  advantage  of  standing  invitations 
from  some  of  his  old  friends,  he  went  on  a  visit  of  a 
few  weeks  to  Boston  and  Cambridge. 

He  was  glad  to  go.  Not  only  did  he  tell  himself 
that  his  work  with  Gay  was  done,  but  she  now  told 
him,  though  not  in  words,  that  such  work  as  he  had 
been  doing  was  done.  The  friends  whom  he  visited 
did  not  find  him  quite  the  lively  companion  he  used 
to  be,  and  this  proved  to  them  that  summers  and 
autumns  spent  in  quiet,  sparsely  settled  mountain 
regions  are  not  beneficial  to  the  spirits  of  a  man. 
One  afternoon  in  Cambridge  he  was  invited  to  attend 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  389 

a  Thursday  tea  given  by  the  young  ladies  of  the  Har- 
vard Annex,  which  invitation  he  promptly  declined. 
The  friend  who  had  proposed  to  accompany  him  was 
much  surprised. 

"  I  thought  you  took  an  interest  in  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  girls,"  she  said,  "  and  would  like  to  see  what 
we  are  doing  at  the  Annex." 

"That  is  all  very  true  in  the  past  tense,"  he  an- 
swered, "  but  you  really  cannot  expect  a  person  always 
to  take  the  same  interest  in  a  thing." 

Mr.  Arthur  Thorne,  however,  made  it  a  point  to 
visit  at  Mrs.  Justin's  house  as  often  as  he  could  find 
any  reasonable  excuse  for  so  doing.  He  saw  a  good 
deal  of  Gay,  and,  in  a  measure,  his  society  interested 
her.  He  gave  her  no  law  lessons,  nor  did  he  talk  upon 
any  subject  fifteen  seconds  after  he  fancied  that  she 
had  lost  interest  in  it,  striving  always  to  find  out 
what  would  best  please  her.  He  was  often  able  to 
engage  her  attention  pleasantly,  and  after  a  time  she 
became  rather  glad  to  see  him.  Every  day  he  grew 
more  and  more  in  love  with  her,  but  of  this  Gay  knew 
nothing.  Had  she  been  any  one  but  herself,  or  even 
had  she  been  truly  herself,  she  might  have  seen  it,  but 
just  now  her  mental  as  well  as  her  physical  powers 
were  working  slowly  and  feebly. 

Mrs.  Justin  perceived  plainly  enough  that  Thome's 
love  for  Gay  was  becoming  devotion,  and  this  knowl- 
edge greatly  troubled  her.  But  there  was  nothing 
for  her  to  do.  She  could  not,  with  any  show  of  rea- 
son, throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  young  man's 
visits,  for  she  had  no  right  to  constitute  herself  the 
guardian  of  Mr.  Stratford's  interests,  and  these  inter- 


390  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

ests  formed  the  only  possible  reason  why  Arthur 
Thome's  course  should  in  any  way  be  obstructed.  If 
she  could  have  used  obstacles  at  all,  they  would  have 
been  piled  up  in  the  present  path  of  Mr.  Stratford, 
who  was  wandering  away  from  what  was  most  desir- 
able, just,  and  right,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  Gay, 
and  even  for  poor  Mr.  Thorne,  who  was  blindly  and 
ardently  striving  for  something  which  she  was  quite 
certain  he  could  never  possess. 

One  afternoon  when  Mr.  Thorne  called  he  was  told 
that  Miss  Armatt  was  not  well,  and  was  confined  to  her 
room ;  and  the  next  day,  and  the  next,  and  a  good  many 
days  afterwards,  and  often  several  times  a  day,  he 
came  and  made  inquiries,  but  he  could  not  see  her. 

There  was  something  the  matter  with  Gray,  believed 
to  be  malarial,  which  greatly  prostrated  her,  but  the 
disease  was  one  in  which  the  attending  physician 
found  very  little  of  what  might  be  called  pronuncia- 
tion. The  malaria,  which  is  so  generally  believed  to 
be  at  the  bottom  of  all  disorders  which  do  not  assume 
definite  and  recognizable  forms,  declined  to  put  forth 
any  point  which  might  advantageously  be  laid  hold 
of.  To  add  to  this  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  phy- 
sician, Gay  would  do  nothing  to  assist  him.  All  his 
appeals  for  cooperation  on  her  part  were  totally  una- 
vailing. Food,  medicine,  and  other  agents  for  restor- 
ing health  and  strength  had  proved  of  so  little  service 
that  after  having  lost  her  interest  in  them  she  seemed 
also  to  have  lost  interest  in  the  effect  they  were  de- 
signed to  produce. 

Mrs.  Justin  gave  up  all  other  pursuits  of  her  life 
and  devoted  herself  to  the  nursing  of  Gay.  The 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  391 

relatives  in  Maryland  were  written  to,  and  the  mar- 
ried sister  came  to  this  city,  but  was  obliged  soon  to 
return  to  her  home  and  her  family  of  small  children. 
Other  doctors  were  called  in  to  consult  with  Gay's 
attending  physician,  but  still  that  sly,  cunning,  and 
malicious  malaria  refused  to  come  forth  from  the 
roots  of  Gray's  energy  and  life,  among  which  it  ap- 
peared to  have  intwined  and  intrenched  itself. 

Stratford  came  home  from  Boston,  and  on  him  fell 
not  only  the  heavy  weight  of  sorrow  at  the  sad  con- 
dition of  his  young  friend,  but  sundry  sharp  stings 
from  his  own  conscience  and  an  amount  of  reproach 
and  condemnation  from  Mrs.  Justin  for  which  he  was 
not  at  all  prepared.  The  time  had  passed,  she  believed, 
for  ordinary  censure  or  admonition.  Stratford  ought 
to  be  made  to  feel  that  on  him  alone  depended  Gay's 
restoration  to  health. 

"  Whatever  else  is  the  matter  with  Gay,"  she  said, 
"  I  believe  that  her  life  is  now  ebbing  away  from  her 
because  she  does  not  care  for  it.  This  world  is  empty 
to  her.  You  made  it  empty,  and  you  can  fill  it.  Even 
now,  if  you  become  to  her  what  you  used  to  be,  and 
give  her  the  hopes  which  I  am  sure  you  once  gave 
her,  I  believe  she  will  want  to  live." 

Stratford  was  much  moved.  "  I  cannot  believe," 
he  said,  uthat  what  you  say  is  true.  But  even  if  it 
were  true,  and  Gay's  life  depended  on  me,  I  could  not 
save  her  as  you  propose  without  being  false  to  her 
and  false  to  myself ." 

Mrs.  Justin  looked  almost  angrily  at  him  for  a 
moment.  "  Then,"  she  said,  "  you  should  not  have 
taken  from  her  the  man  who  did  love  her." 


392  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Stratford  walked  home,  his  heart  chilled  and  pained. 
The  first  thought  that  had  come  to  him  after  Mrs. 
Justin's  last  words  was  that  it  was  better  that  Gay 
should  die  than  to  be  married  to  such  a  man  as  Cris- 
man.  But  now  he  asked  himself :  Was  it  better  ? 
Hard,  cold  reason  did  not  deny  him  her  support,  but 
the  support  was  neither  cheering  nor  bracing.  "  Can 
it  be  true,"  the  other  question  came  to  him  again  and 
again,  "that  I  am  the  only  one  who  can  make  her 
care  to  live  1 "  He  had  believed  that  Arthur  Thome 
could  be  such  a  one;  but  now,  when  things  were 
coming  to  him  very  bare  and  true  and  sharp,  he  could 
not  say  to  himself  that  he  had  unreservedly  hoped 
that  Arthur  Thorne,  or  any  other  man,  would  take  Gay 
Armatt  wholly  to  himself.  There  is  a  selfishness  that 
sometimes  lives  within  our  noblest  impulses  without 
OUT  knowing  it.  Some  sudden  burst  of  light  may 
make  the  impulse  transparent  and  show  us  the  little 
hard  stone  lying  at  the  heart  of  it.  Some  such  light 
now  broke  upon  Stratford,  but  he  saw  nothing 
plainly.  All  that  was  clear  to  him  was  that  he  must 
assert  again  and  again :  "  I  will  be  true  to  myself,  and, 
thereby,  true  to  her  ! " 

Two  days  after  this,  when  Arthur  Thorne  came  as 
usual  in  the  afternoon  to  Mrs.  Justin's  house,  he  met 
Stratford,  who  was  just  leaving. 

"  You  cannot  see  Mrs.  Justin,"  said  the  latter,  "  she 
has  been  up  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  and  is  now 
asleep.'7 

"  How  is  Miss  Armatt  f  "  asked  Arthur. 

"  They  tell  me  she  is  weaker  to-day  than  she  was 
yesterday,"  answered  Stratford. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  393 

"And  that  is  what  they  said  yesterday/7  said 
Thome. 

"  Yes,'7  said  Stratford  ;  and  turning  away  his  face, 
he  made  a  step  towards  the  door. 

Arthur  laid  his  hand  upon  his  arm.  "  Tell  me,"  he 
said,  in  words  low-spoken  but  trembling  with  force, 
"  can  it  be  that  I  am  never  to  see  her  again  ?  " 

Stratford  turned  and  put  his  hands  upon  his  friend's 
shoulders  and  looked  for  a  moment  in  his  face.  Then 
he  said,  speaking  slowly:  "I  have  been  to  see  her 
physician  this  morning,  and  I  am  convinced  he  has 
given  up  all  hope  of  a  rally  of  her  strength.  My  dear 
boy,  I  am  afraid  that  you  will  never  see  her  again." 
And  with  that  he  went  away,  leaving  Arthur  standing 
in  the  hall. 

The  two  men  were  not  rivals :  they  loved  each 
other  and  were  now  especially  drawn  together  ;  but 
it  was  impossible  for  Stratford  to  talk  longer  with 
Arthur.  The  half -hour  before,  Mrs.  Justin  had  come 
to  him,  and,  putting  a  cold  white  hand  in  his,  had 
said:  "We  must  think  no  more  about  those  things 
of  which  we  have  been  talking.  It  is  now  too  late." 
She  did  not  say,  "  even  for  you,"  but  there  was  that 
in  her  large,  sad  eyes  which  carried  these  words 
straight  into  his  heart. 

Arthur  Thome  stood  in  the  hall  until  a  maid- 
servant came  to  him  ;  and  knowing  so  well  who  he 
was  and  why  he  came,  she  gently  told  him  that  the 
nurse,  who  was  preparing  some  broth  for  Miss  Gay 
just  now,  would  stop  on  her  way  upstairs,  and  might 
be  able  to  tell  him  something  about  her.  And  she 
opened  the  drawing-room  door  and  left  him. 


394  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Without  answer,  Arthur  walked  into  the  room, 
and,  after  a  few  steps,  stopped,  his  eyes  upon  the 
floor.  He  was  waiting  for  no  one;  he  expected  no 
one  j  he  stood  there  without  a  purpose  j  he  knew 
nothing  in  the  world  but  that  he  should  never  see 
Gay  again. 

This  young  man  was  truly,  powerfully,  overwhelm- 
ingly in  love.  Since  he  had  not  been  able  to  see  Gay, 
he  had  loved  her  more  than  when  he  had  been  with 
her.  His  soul  reached  out  towards  her  with  an  agony 
of  craving  that  only  a  wildly  loving  heart  can  under- 
stand. His  love  was  based  upon  no  hopes,  no  expec- 
tations, no  purposes ;  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
future,  nothing  to  do  with  the  past ;  it  was,  simply, 
that  now,  this  very  moment,  he  loved  her ;  his  soul 
lived  in  her.  And  now  he  knew  that  never  again 
should  he  hear  her  voice,  never  look  into  her  eyes, 
never  see  her,  in  life  again ! 

His  blood  ran  fire  and  ice.  He  knew  it  was  true 
that,  although  she  was  not  dead,  she  had  gone  from 
him.  He  had  no  rights ;  he  was  nothing  to  her ;  he 
had  never  made  himself  anything  to  her.  Why  should 
any  one  allow  him  to  see  her  again  ?  To  all  intents 
and  purposes  he  was  an  outside  stranger.  He  would 
never  see  her  again  ! 

Suddenly  his  body  trembled.  His  right  hand 
stretched  itself  open,  and  then  shut  close  and  tight. 
His  soul  rose  up  in  rebellion.  This  thing  could  not 
be.  Heaven  and  earth  might  say  so,  but  he  would 
not  admit  it.  It  must  be  that  he  should  again  see 
Gay.  She  was  not  his  Gay,  but  she  possessed  him 
wholly  and  utterly.  He  must  see  her  again  in  life 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  395 

were  it  only  one  glance  at  a  tip  of  a  curl  of  her 
hair. 

Arthur  Thorne  was  the  most  conventional  of  men, 
but  down  about  him  fell  his  conventionality  as  if  it 
had  been  shaken  to  pieces  by  an  earthquake. 

He  put  his  hat  upon  a  chair  j  he  listened ;  he  knew 
exactly  what  he  was  about ;  every  faculty  rushed  to 
the  aid  of  the  one  action  for  which  he  now  lived. 
He  knew  where  Gay  was.  Mrs.  Justin  had  told  him 
of  the  large  bright  room  at  the  back  of  the  house 
adjoining  the  young  girl's  chamber,  where,  upon  a 
lounge  from  which  she  could  look  out  at  the  sky,  she 
lay  through  the  livelong  day,  thinking  less,  eating 
less,  living  less,  as  each  day  passed  on.  "  It  may  be 
this  is  the  one  moment,"  Arthur  said  to  himself,  "  in 
which  I  can  see  her.  The  nurse  will  come  up,  Mrs. 
Justin  may  awake,  the  relatives  are  expected.  Now ! " 

"With  noiseless  steps  he  passed  along  the  hall,  then 
up  the  one  flight  of  softly  carpeted  stairs  to  a  door 
with  a  portiere  partly  drawn  across  it.  He  looked 
through  the  narrow  opening  into  the  large  bright 
room  in  which  of  late  his  thoughts  had  so  constantly 
dwelt.  And,  O  Heavens !  there  was  Gay,  upon  a 
lounge,  close  to  the  window,  the  sunlight  falling  on 
the  soft  folds  of  her  lightly  tinted  dress  and  on  the 
bright  colors  of  a  shawl  thrown  partly  over  her.  It 
was  Gay  !  He  saw  her  ! 

The  young  girl  lay  perfectly  motionless,  her  face 
slightly  turned  towards  the  window,  her  half-open 
eyes  gazing  out  into  the  bright  air  but  looking  upon 
nothing.  Her  beautiful  face  was  not  changed  in 
contour  j  all  the  roundness  and  softness  and  delicacy 


396  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

of  outline  were  there,  but  the  color  had  faded  away. 
Her  light-brown  almost  golden  hair  curled  and 
waved,  as  of  old,  upon  her  forehead,  and  a  mass  of  it 
was  thrown  to  one  side  upon  a  cushion  on  which  her 
head  was  resting.  Her  little  hands  were  clasped 
together  under  her  shawl,  and  they  were  very  thin, 
and  her  form,  under  its  soft  drapery,  was  thin  and 
weak  and  almost  done  with  everything. 

Gay,  herself,  was  nearly  done  with  everything.  It 
was  not  a  malady  of  the  soul  or  of  the  affections 
which  had  prostrated  this  young  girl,  and  under 
which  her  life  was  wasting.  It  was,  indeed,  that 
malignant  and  subtle  spirit  of  disease  for  which  the 
doctors  had  been  seeking,  and  which  would,  long  ago, 
have  come  forth,  its  head  bowed  for  the  death-stroke, 
had  Gay  brought  up  her  forces  against  it.  But  she 
brought  up  none.  Medicine  and  skill  can  do  nothing 
without  the  assistance  of  vital  force,  and  the  only 
warfare  in  which  Gay's  young  soul  was  able  to  en- 
gage seemed  directed  against  her  vital  forces.  All 
that  would  sustain  her  body  or  her  mind  had  become 
repulsive  to  her.  Her  soul  had  ceased  to  be  hungry, 
and  the  example  of  her  soul  was  followed  by  her  body. 

This  girl  had  been  true  to  every  normal  impulse  of 
her  nature.  She  had  had  a  purpose  in  life,  noble,  intel- 
lectual, of  high  aim.  But  this  had  not  been  all.  She 
had  loved.  Thus  stood  her  woman's  nature,  equipped 
for  the  battle  of  life.  But  love  had  been  taken  from 
her,  roughly  and  suddenly,  and  the  manner  of  its 
taking  had  been  such  that  it  had  gone,  absolutely 
and  utterly.  There  had  been  nothing  to  take  the 
place  of  this  love.  The  warmest,  truest  friendship 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  397 

could  not  do  it.  Already  a  true  friendship,  un- 
ripened  into  love,  had  shown  its  powerlessness. 
What  was  left  was  a  half-soul  ;  and  girls  like  Gay, 
with  half -souls,  die. 

Gay  was  in  a  dream.  It  was  a  day-dream,  although 
not  one  which  sprang  from  her  own  volition.  She 
was  too  weak  for  that  now.  Whatever  came  into  her 
mind  wandered  there  of  its  own  accord;  and  the 
dream  that  now  came  to  her  was  one  of  earlier  days, 
of  the  days  when  her  life  began  to  fill  with  purpose 
and  meaning,  and  yet  days  that  were  so  near  they 
scarcely  seemed  to  belong  to  the  past.  Into  this 
dream  came  all  her  youth  and  happiness;  and  so 
came  love.  But  it  was  not  a  vision  of  flowing 
streams  and  bending  shades,  of  warm-tinted,  sun- 
set skies,  of  the  majesty  of  mountains,  or  the 
wide-spreading  verdure  of  the  fields.  No  kindred 
soul  breathed  to  her  words  of  high  intent  and  stir- 
ring hope.  She  wandered  in  thoughtless,  bright  con- 
tent with  the  young  Charley,  she  first  had  known  and 
loved.  The  moonlight  of  their  walks  fell  upon  city 
squares  and  parks.  They  talked  and  laughed  in  the 
midst  of  walls  and  windows,  cold  ceilings  and  un- 
yielding floors,  but  the  spirit  of  young  love  made 
these  as  delicate  of  tint  and  tone,  as  odorous  of  per- 
fume, and  as  soft  of  footfall  as  white  clouds  in  the 
clear  blue  sky,  the  tender  blossoms  of  the  grape,  and 
the  soft  grass  upon  the  fields.  This  was  the  early, 
fresh,  and  blossom  love,  and  as  it  first  showed  the 
signs  of  woman's  life  within  her,  so  memory,  wander- 
ing freely,  went  back  to  it  and  sat  beside  it,  finding  it 
purer,  sweeter,  more  enduring  than  all  else. 
34 


398  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

And  thus  the  young  girl  lay,  knowing  no  present 
and  no  future ;  lost  even  to  all  the  past  except  that 
she  was  simply  happy,  and  held  the  boy,  Charley,  by 
the  hand. 

Suddenly  she  felt  a  touch  upon  her  shoulder.  A 
man  was  kneeling  by  her. 

"  I  could  not  help  it,"  he  said.  "  I  saw  you,  and  I 
could  not  keep  myself  from  coming  to  you.  Will  you 
not  speak  to  me,  dear  Gay  ? n 

She  slowly  turned  her  head  towards  him,  and  her 
large  eyes  opened  wide,  but  in  them  was  no  surprise, 
no  questioning.  Just  now  dreams  were  to  her  like 
real  life,  and  real  life  like  a  dream.  She  wondered 
not  at  either. 

"Mr.  Thorne,"  she  said,  in  a  voice  very  low  and 
perfectly  calm. 

"  Yes,"  said  Arthur,  his  words  trembling  with  pas- 
sionate emotion  which  he  was  struggling  to  subdue, 
"  it  is  I,  and  I  came  to  tell  you  —  Heaven  has  given 
me  this  chance,  and  I  must  tell  you  quickly.  0  Gay, 
I  love  you!  I  have  loved  you  almost  ever  since  I 
knew  you!  And  now,  dear  Gay,  it  nearly  kills  me — " 

The  poor  fellow  could  not  speak  his  mind.  His 
fine  sensibilities  would  not  suffer  him  to  say  to  Gay 
that  he  could  not  let  her  die  without  knowing  that  he 
loved  her.  But  this  is  what  he  meant. 

Gay  looked  at  him  very  steadily  and  quietly.  Her 
mind  was  going  back.  "Was  that  the  reason  that 
you  taught  me  law ! "  she  said. 

"It  was  the  reason  I  lived,"  said  Arthur.  "It  was 
the  reason  for  everything  I  thought,  and  everything 
I  did.  O  Gay,  perhaps  I  ought  to  have  told  you 
before,  but  then  I  did  not  think — and  afterwards 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  399 

came  the  time  when  there  was  no  opportunity.  But 
now  I  have  this  one  chance.  I  know  that  you  may 
not  care  anything  about  me,  but  I  could  not  help  it ! 
I  must  come  and  tell  you  how  I  love  you,  love  you, 
love  you ! " 

As  he  spoke  tears  came  into  his  eyes,  and  some  of 
them  rolled  down  his  cheeks.  Gay  looked  at  him 
with  more  interest  than  she  had  looked  at  anything 
for  days,  but  her  manner  was  still  very  quiet  and 
apparently  untouched  by  any  emotion. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  she,  "  that  I  am  not  going  to 
live  f  » 

Thorne  did  not  answer,  but  the  expression  that 
came  into  his  face  showed,  even  to  the  listless  mind 
of  Gay,  that  he  knew  it. 

"  It  is  a  great  pity,"  she  said,  her  large  eyes  fixed 
upon  him,  "  that  you  should  feel  this  way  now." 

"  I  feel  so  now,"  he  said,  "  and  I  shall  feel  so  always. 
It  don't  make  any  difference  what  happens,  I  shall 
feel  so  all  my  life — always — forever !  " 

Gay  still  looked  at  him,  but  said  nothing.  Sud- 
denly his  manner  changed. 

"  O  Gay  !  "  he  exclaimed  in  a  tone  almost  wild  with 
importunity,  "  why  will  you  die  ?  It  is  too  terrible, 
too  dreadful !  Why  will  you  not  do  everything  to 
make  yourself  live  ?  They  tell  me  you  do  not  fight 
against  Death.  Why  will  you  not  rouse  yourself  up 
and  fight  against  it?  For  the  sake  of  everybody  who 
loves  you  —  for  the  sake  of  this  beautiful  world — for 
your  own  sake,  dear  Gay  ? " 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  a  slight  shade 
of  uncertainty  upon  her  brow.  For  weeks  she  had 
received  from  Mrs.  Justin,  from  her  doctor,  from  her 


400  >         THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

attendants  and  friends,  the  most  earnest  and  anxious 
entreaties  to  battle  against  Death,  but  there  was 
nothing  in  Gray's  nature  to  give  response  to  these 
prayers,  and  day  by  day  they  fell  upon  her  ear  colder 
and  more  commonplace.  But  the  words  spoken  by 
Arthur  Thorne,  coming  from  him,  and  in  this  way, 
and  at  this  time,  and  with  something  behind  them  of 
which  her  mind  took  cognizance  but  did  not  act  upon, 
seemed  altogether  different  and  novel. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  w  she  asked. 

Arthur  did  not  answer.  The  words  that  came  to 
him  were  too  many,  too  ordinary,  too  weak.  His  eyes 
fell  upon  a  tall,  heavy  flask,  the  sight  of  which  struck 
a  pang  to  his  heart.  He  knew  it  well.  It  contained  a 
strengthening  and  revivifying  cordial  which  had  been 
ordered  by  Gay's  doctor,  and  which  Arthur,  at  Mrs. 
Justin's  request,  had  procured  for  her.  This  he  had 
done  more  than  a  week  before,  and  as  it  now  stood 
between  him  and  the  light  it  told  the  tale  of  this 
young  girl's  surrender.  Its  contents  had  scarcely 
been  tasted. 

Arthur  arose,  and  approached  the  table.  He  did 
not  speak;  he  could  scarcely  shape  his  thoughts. 
The  power  of  this  remedy,  upon  which  so  much  hope 
and  reliance  had  been  placed,  had  never  been  tried. 
Somewhere  there  was  a  cruel  sin.  He  had  made  him- 
self well  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  cordial,  for  it 
concerned  Gay.  Pouring  a  small  quantity  of  the 
liquid  into  a  glass,  he  again  knelt  by  the  side  of  the 
young  girl. 

"  Will  you  not  drink  this  ?  »  he  said.  "  It  will  help 
you  to  fight  Death.  Dear  Gay,  do  not  refuse  it ! n 
And  he  held  the  glass  towards  her. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  401 

She  looked  steadily  into  his  eyes,  and  upon  her  lips 
came  a  smile,  faint  and  shadowy  ;  but  no  fainter  nor 
more  shadowy  than  the  interest  in  life  and  this  world 
that  awoke  within  her. 

"  If  you  wish  it  so  much,  I  will  try,"  she  said. 
"  But  you  must  raise  my  head.77 

With  the  glass  in  one  hand,  Arthur  passed  the 
other  beneath  her  head.  Her  soft  masses  of  silky 
hair  enveloped  his  hand,  and  some  of  it  fell  over  his 
wrist.  It  was  Gay's  head  that  lay  in  his  open  palm, 
warm,  round,  and  heavy.  She  could  not  lift  it ;  he 
it  was  who  should  raise  it!  Every  fine  hair  that 
touched  him  seemed  to  send  an  electric  thrill  through- 
out his  soul  and  body ;  it  belonged  to  that  dear  Gay 
whom  he  loved. 

Slowly  and  gently  he  raised  her  and  placed  the 
glass  to  her  lips.  She  drank  it,  and  then  he  tenderly 
lowered  her  head  and  drew  out  his  hand  from  her 
hair. 

Gay  turned  her  eyes  towards  him  with  a  full,  earnest 
gaze.  "  Thank  you,"  she  said,  "  and  I  think  you  had 
better  take  some  of  it  yourself.  You  are  very  pale." 

That  she  should  say  it  was  enough.  He  rose  to  his 
feet,  po.ured  out  a  glassful  of  the  cordial  and  drank 
it.  Then  he  came  back  to  the  lounge. 

"Do  you  feel  better?"  she  said. 

For  a  few  moments  Arthur  could  not  speak,  and, 
when  he  did,  his  voice  was  husky  and  slightly  tremu- 
lous. That  she  should  think  of  him  ! 

"  Dear  Gay,"  he  said,  "  will  you  not  let  them  give 
it  you  ?  Think  of  this  dear  world,  and  do  not  die. 
And  now  I  must  go.  Perhaps  I  have  staid  too  long. 
But  I  have  seen  you !  I  have  told  you!  " 


402  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

She  drew  out  from  tinder  the  shawl  one  of  her  thin 
little  hands,  and  Arthur  clasped  it  in  both  of  his  own. 
He  was  about  to  press  upon  it  a  passionate  kiss,  but 
with  a  sudden  effort  he  restrained  himself.  He  had 
told  her ;  that  was  all ;  and  he  had  no  right  to  touch 
her  with  his  lips.  His  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  he 
left  the  room. 

When  the  nurse,  who  had  experienced  delaying 
difficulties  in  the  preparation  of  a  delicacy  with 
which  she  designed  to  tempt  whatever  lingering  trace 
of  appetite  might  yet  remain  with  her  young  charge, 
heard  above  her  the  quick  closing  of  the  front  door, 
she  exclaimed :  "  There  !  that  gentleman  has  gone ! 
But  I  can't  say  I'm  sorry.  It's  a  harder  thing  to 
answer  his  questions  now  than  it  ever  was  before." 

An  hour  or  two  afterwards  she  said  to  Mrs.  Justin : 
"  I  wish  that  young  gentleman  had  staid,  for  I  know 
it  would  have  pleased  him  wonderful  to  hear  that 
Miss  Armatt  took  three  tablespoonfuls  of  the  broth 
I  made  for  her.  How  she  suddenly  came  to  have  all 
that  appetite  I  can't  imagine.'7 

Gay  was  then  sleeping,  and  when  she  awoke  Mrs. 
Justin  was  sitting  by  her  side.  The  eyes  of  the 
young  girl  instinctively  moved  towards  the  window, 
outside  of  which  the  air  was  still  bright  with  the 
light  of  day ;  but  suddenly  she  turned  them  on  her 
friend. 

"Dear,"  she  said,  "don't  you  want  to  give  me  some 
of  that  drink  Mr.  Thome  poured  out  for  me  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Thorne !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Justin. 

"  That  is  it,"  said  Gay,  glancing  towards  the  table. 
"  He  was  very  good,  and  I  am  glad  I  took  it." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

our  poor  Gay  had  been  suffi- 
ciently aroused  from  her  lethargy 
of  soul  and  body  to  make  one  feeble 
stroke  in  the  battle  against  Death, 
the  action  and  its  result  appeared 
to  interest  her,  and  she  made  other 
strokes  with  encouraging  effect.  Day 
by  day  her  arm  grew  stronger,  her  attitude  more  deter- 
mined, until  the  enemy,  from  falling  back  little  by 
little,  retreated  altogether,  accompanied  by  the  insid- 
ious ally  who  had  incited  him  to  the  conquest  of  Gay's 
young  life. 

To  all  Gay's  friends  this  was  a  season  of  great 
rejoicing,  and  to  Mrs.  Justin  it  was  a  resurrection. 
She  had  watched  the  gradual  death  of  the  bright, 
strong  young  friend  she  had  known  so  well,  and  had 
seen  her  utterly  pass  away,  leaving  in  her  stead  a 
helpless,  listless,  careless  being  whose  living  was  not 
life  and  of  whom  there  was  but  little  left  to  die.  But 
now  Gay  was  once  more  the  true  Gay,  not  yet  quite 
her  old  self,  but  hour  by  hour  approaching  nearer  to 
that  most  lovable  creation. 

As  she  grew  stronger  her  friends  came  to  her; 
and  among  them,  Stratford.  This  friend,  from  the 
moment  he  had  heard  of  the  change  in  Gay,  had 


404  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.       4fr 

braced  himself  for  action  should  she  return  to  that 
life  which  had  been  supposed  lost  to  her.  In  that 
event  there  must  be  no  doubt,  no  indecision,  no  hesi- 
tation ;  his  part  must  be  chosen  and  must  be  enacted 
steadfastly  and  honestly  unto  the  end. 

There  was  no  hesitation,  no  doubt,  no  indecision. 
He  came  to  her  as  the  friend  of  old,  the  adviser,  the 
helper,  the  master.  These,  and  no  more,  he  intended 
ever  to  be.  Without  a  question  or  a  thought,  Gay 
seated  herself  at  his  feet.  To  her  the  action  was 
again  as  natural  as  when  she  had  sat  there  before. 

Arthur  Thome  came  also  to  Gay;  came  earlier 
than  Stratford.  He  had  told  Mrs.  Justin  of  that 
memorable  interview  with  the  almost  dying  girl,  and 
he  concealed  nothing  of  what  he  had  done,  or  felt,  or 
said.  Mrs.  Justin  smiled  sadly.  Her  heart  was  pained, 
but  she  could  not  reproach  him.  If  it  should  be  that 
he  had  given  Gay  back  to  her,  he  deserved  gratitude 
which  could  not  be  measured.  She  was  ready  to  yield 
him  this,  but  she  gave  him  no  more.  His  hopes  were 
not  her  hopes. 

When  Gay  was  strong  enough  to  come  into  the 
library  and  sit  in  the  easy-cushioned  chair  before 
the  tall  wide  window,  Arthur,  as  has  been  said,  was 
among  her  earliest  visitors.  Nothing  could  have 
induced  him  to  deny  himself  this  privilege,  and  yet 
it  was  a  hard  thing  for  this  young  man  to  present 
himself  before  this  young  girl.  He  had  said  all  that 
lover  could  say,  but  as  a  lover  he  must  now  say  noth- 
ing. What  may  burst  forth  from  a  full  soul  to  one 
whose  life  is  ending  must  be  repressed  when  that 
life  is  slowly  and  feebly  beginning  again.  He  must 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  405 

meet  her  as  though  that  other  meeting  had  not  been, 
and  without  knowing  what  effect  his  words  had  had 
upon  her. 

Arthur  had  plunged  into  love's  Rubicon,  but  he  had 
not  crossed  it.  Chilling  and  dangerous  as  might  be 
its  waters,  he  would  make  no  stroke  forwards  until 
the  time  had  come  for  him  to  seek  his  fate  upon  the 
other  shore. 

While  Gay  had  been  constantly  in  the  mind  of 
Arthur,  so  into  Gay's  mind,  as  she  quietly  lay  on  her 
lounge  and  in  her  chair  during  the  happy  hours  when 
in  a  slow  and  steady  tide  her  health  and  strength 
flowed  back  upon  her,  came  thoughts  of  Mr.  Thorne. 
On  that  day  when  his  voice  had  roused  her  from  her 
dream  of  girlhood  and  from  her  half -unconscious 
gazing  into  the  bright  world  of  empty  air  beyond 
her  window,  she  had  not  wondered  when  she  turned 
and  saw  him  at  her  side.  The  faculty  of  wonder  had 
gone  to  sleep  or  had  died.  All  things  to  her  were 
commonplace  and  ordinary.  But  it  was  not  long 
before  the  recollection  of  that  kneeling  figure  by  her 
side  caused  wonder  to  revive.  At  first  she  asked 
herself  why  he  had  come  to  her?  why  it  had  been  he 
who  had  incited  her  to  turn  on  Death  and  resist  him  ? 
But  this  question  she  did  not  ask  long;  it  answered 
itself.  She  remembered  well  his  words,  and  having 
looked  on  his  pale  and  earnest  countenance,  it  was 
impossible  to  forget  it,  or  to  misconstrue  its  mean- 
ing. Then  she  asked  herself,  Why  did  he  feel  this 
way?  Thus  questioning,  musing,  pondering,  she 
went  back  over  her  intercourse  with  Arthur  Thorne, 
called  to  mind  this  and  that  thing  he  had  done  or 


406  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

said,  suited  motives  to  his  actions,  or  resolved  his 
actions  back  to  motives,  and  so  Arthur  came  often 
and  dwelt  long  in  her  thoughts  without  meeting  with 
any  hustling  or  incommoding  company. 

The  matter  was  now  plain  enough  to  her  on  his 
side,  but  not  at  all  plain  on  hers.  Often  and  often 
she  tried  to  make  it  plain  to  herself  on  her  side,  but 
she  could  not  do  it.  She  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  this  was  something  too  hard  for  her  just  now, 
and  she  gave  up  the  attempt.  One  definite  thing  she 
did  for  Mr.  Thorne, —  she  gave  him  a  new  position 
in  her  mind.  Up  to  thi^  time  she  had  always  looked 
upon  him  as  a  Number  Two.  He  was  gentle;  he 
was  considerate ;  he  was  kindness  itself ;  he  was 
talented ;  he  had  learned  many  things  and  he  knew 
how  to  think  for  himself;  he  was  handsome,  with 
the  bearing  of  a  gentleman ;  and  in  his  soul  she  had 
found  many  sympathies  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all 
this,  she  had  looked  upon  him  as  a  Number  Two. 
But  now  there  was  a  change.  Speaking  as  he  had 
spoken,  and  feeling  as  he  had  felt,  no  matter  why  or 
to  what  end,  there  was  no  one  to  whom  Arthur 
Thorne  could  stand  second. 

When  the  time  came  that  she  could  see  visitors  the 
heart  of  Gay  was  troubled.  Of  course  he  would  come 
to  see  her,  and  what  would  he  do  ?  His  presence 
might  be  embarrassing,  but  then,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  would  be  so  very  strange  if  he  did  not  come.  What 
would  he  say  to  her  ?  Would  he  look  as  he  did  when 
she  last  saw  him?  As  for  herself — what  she  should 
say,  or  think,  or  do,  she  knew  not.  The  whole 
affair  was  very  puzzling,  and  it  depended  so  much 
upon  circumstances. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  407 

When  Gay's  friends  began  to  come  to  her,  Mrs. 
Justin  never  left  her  alone  with  visitors.  Enthusi- 
asms and  draughts  needed  her  watchful  eye.  She 
too  was  anxious  about  Mr.  Thorne,  but  when  he 
came  he  brought  with  him  no  cold  accompaniment  of 
outer  air,  left  behind  him  no  open  doors  nor  undrawn 
portiere,  and  his  manner  was  under  the  same  quiet 
restraint  that  it  was  wont  to  be.  But  his  face  was 
very  pale,  and  any  stranger  could  have  seen  that  his 
interest  in  Gay's  condition  was  deep  and  true.  Gay 
herself  was  a  little  pale  at  first,  but  this  soon  passed 
away.  When  he  had  gone,  she  fell  into  a  state  of 
wonder.  Could  it  be  true  that  all  that  had  happened 
which  she  remembered  ?  Or  was  it  one  of  the  queer 
dreams  which  had  come  to  her  at  that  time  ?  But 
after  he  had  made  her  two  or  three  visits,  Gay  began 
to  imagine  that  what  she  saw  in  him  was  an  outer 
crust  of  kind  restraint  and  tender  regard  for  her  new 
strength,  and  that  there  was  something  under  this 
crust  which  sometimes  shook  it,  although  so  slightly 
that  perhaps  no  one  knew  it  but  herself.  The  pres- 
ence of  Mrs.  Justin  was  a  bar  to  words  or  emotion, 
but  Gay  wondered  that  there  was  not  the  least  little 
bit  of  a  sign  that  he  remembered  what  he  had  said ; 
if,  indeed,  he  had  ever  said  it.  If  he  ever  should 
speak,  would  he  show  that  he  had  repented  having 
been  carried  away  by  his  sorrow  that  she  was  going 
to  die?  Or  would  he  think  it  well  not  to  speak  again  ? 
Or  would  he  repeat  what  he  had  said  ? 

Gay  was  quite  right  when  she  thought  she  saw 
beneath  Arthur's  quiet  restraint  some  signs  of  inter- 
nal commotion.  In  fact  he  was  torn,  he  was  almost 


408  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

riven ;  he  slept  not  by  night,  nor  took  aught  of  com- 
fort in  his  life.  He,  too,  questioned  himself,  but  he 
only  asked :  "  What  does  she  think  of  me  ?  What 
does  she  expect  of  me  ? " 

One  day,  when  Arthur  was  with  the  two  ladies  in 
the  library,  Mrs.  Justin  was  called  away  to  receive  a 
visitor.  Gay  offered  no  opportunity  to  the  embar- 
rassment of  silence,  and  began  instantly  to  speak. 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr,  Thorne,"  she  said,  "  that  I  have 
a  very  funny  idea  about  you  ?  I  believe  that  you  have 
forgotten  my  name,  and  that  you  are  ashamed  to  ask 
anybody  what  it  is.  You  don't  address  me  by  any 
name  whatever,  and  I  sometimes  fancy  that  while 
you  are  sitting  here  you  are  going  over  the  alphabet 
in  your  mind,  hoping  in  that  way  the  name  will  come 
to  you,  and  I  suppose  that  in  such  cases  people  gen- 
erally slip  too  quickly  over  A,  because  it  is  the  first 
letter,  and  they  are  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  on  to  the 
others." 

Arthur  drew  closer  to  her.  "  Once,"  he  said,  speak- 
ing very  quickly,  and  in  a  low  tone,  "  I  called  you  by 
a  name  which  perhaps  I  had  no  right  to  use,  but,  until 
I  know  that,  I  can  never  call  you  by  any  other.  Do 
you  remember  ?  " 

A  tender  glow  came  into  Gay's  cheeks  and  temples 
as  though  the  fair  Hygeia  had  suddenly  touched  her 
with  a  wand  and  sent  into  her  veins  the  rich  young 
blood  which  once  coursed  through  them.  There  was 
a  faint  sparkle  in  her  eyes,  but  this  was  hidden  by 
the  long  lashes  which  now  shaded  them. 

"  You  spoke  very  kindly  to  me  that  day,"  she  said. 
"You  were  so  good  to  me — " 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  409 

"  Oh,  don't  speak  of  kindness,"  interrupted  Arthur. 
"I  beg  you  not  to  think  of  that  now.  Don't  you 
remember  that  I  called  you  Gay  ?  that  I  said  I  loved 
you  ?  Don't  you  remember  that  ? " 

"  I  remember,"  said  Gay,  speaking  very  softly,  with 
her  eyes  still  more  shaded,  "but  I  have  thought — 
have  fancied — that  it  might  have  been  one  of  those 
dreams  I  used  to  have." 

"It  was  not  a  dream,'7  said  Arthur,  a  trembling 
earnestness  in  his  voice.  "  It  was  all  real.  Oh,  Gay, 
dear  Gay,  I  called  you  that.  I  said  I  loved  you. 
May  I  call  you  so  again  ?  May  I  say  so  once  more  ?" 

"  Mr.  Thorne,"  said  Gay,  still  speaking  very  softly, 
"  I  think  that  this  is  all  too  soon.  You  could  not 
have  had  those  feelings  very  long ;  and  as  for  me, — 
not  knowing  but  it  might  be  a  fancy  or  a  dream, — 
what  you  now  say  seems  to  come  so  unexpectedly. 
Do  you  not  think  you  ought  to  wait  ?  " 

"  Wait ! "  exclaimed  Arthur.     "  How  long  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Gay —  "  some  time." 

"  And  may  I  love  you  while  I  wait  ?  "  asked  Arthur. 

The  glow  on  her  cheeks  and  temples  increased 
somewhat,  as  if  Hygeia  had  forgotten  to  remove  her 
wand,  and  it  spread  to  the  little  ears  which  lay 
among  the  soft  light  brown,  almost  golden,  hair 
which  once  had  covered  Arthur's  hand,  and  even 
spread  itself  upon  his  wrist.  The  light  in  her  eyes, 
now  but  slightly  shaded,  seemed  to  flash  something 
of  itself  into  her  lips,  which  tremulously  moved,  as 
though  they  held  between  them  a  word  with  which 
they  might  play  but  not  let  go.  But  the  word  was 
too  strong  for  them,  and  as  for  a  moment  Gay's  large 
35 


410  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

eyes  were  turned  upon  Arthur's  glowing  face,  it  made 
a  quick  escape. 

"  Yes,"  said  Gay. 

"Wait !     Who  on  earth  could  have  waited  ? 

Arthur  did  not;  in  a  moment  he  had  her  in  his 
arms.  And,  when  she  was  there,  it  came  to  her  in  a 
flash  of  consciousness  that  all  the  thinking  she  had 
been  lately  doing,  all  the  wondering,  all  the  question- 
ing of  herself,  had  been  but  the  natural,  simple,  and 
certain  pathway  to  those  arms. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


HEN  Enoch  Bullripple  reached  the 
Western  town  in  which  lived  those 
persons  who  were  said  to  have  in- 
herited legal  rights  in  the  Cherry 
Bridge  farms,  he  found  but  one 
of  them.  This  was  a  Mr.  Hector 
Twombly,  a  man  of  about  forty 
years  of  age,  a  very  stout  and  even  plump  figure,  a 
round  face  totally  devoid  of  beard,  red  cheeks  and 
lips,  and  with  as  much  of  an  outward  air  of  boyish- 
ness as  is  compatible  with  forty  years  of  actual  age. 
By  profession  he  was  a  stock-raiser,  a  general  mer- 
chant, a  grist  and  saw  mill  owner,  and  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  an  important  stage  and  mail  route. 

Mr.  Twombly  listened  with  great  attention  to 
Enoch's  account  of  the  business  which  had  brought 
him  there,  and  then  he  invited  the  old  farmer  to  take 
supper  with  him,  and  to  stay  all  night,  and,  in  fact, 
to  make  his  house  his  home  as  long  as  he  should 
be  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  next  morning, 
in  the  very  plainly  furnished  counting-room  of  his 
store,  in  which  the  greater  part  of  his  extensive  and 
varied  business  was  conducted,  he  communicated  to 
his  visitor  his  decision  regarding  the  Cherry  Bridge 
property. 

411 


412  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

"Now,  then,  Mr.  Bullripple,"  said  Mr.  Twombly, 
sitting  up  very  straight  in  his  chair,  with  one  plump, 
well-shaped  hand  upon  each  of  his  outspread  knees, 
"  this  is  about  the  size  of  this  business  as  it  appears 
to  me.  My  uncle,  Thomas  Brackett,  who  I  never  saw 
and  have  heard  very  little  about, — my  mother  having 
married  young  and  come  out  here  pretty  much  among 
the  first  settlers, —  owned  the  farm  you  live  on  and 
that  other  one,  and  when  he  died  they  went,  naturally 
enough,  as  everybody  thought,  to  his  nephew  Peter, 
who  was  living  with  him,  and  who  everybody  looked 
upon  as  the  same  thing  as  his  son  and  heir.  That  is 
the  way  in  which  I  have  heard  the  matter  stated." 

"  You've  put  it  just  right,"  said  Enoch. 

"  Now,  then,  when  Mr.  Peter  Brackett  walked  into 
the  property  there  wasn't  nobody  there  to  ask  any 
questions,  and  it  isn't  likely  that  Mr.  Peter  Brackett 
bothered  his  head  about  any  sister  of  his  uncle  who 
went  out  West  ever  so  long  ago,  and  might  be  dead 
by  that  time,  for  aught  he  knew.  Perhaps  he  never 
heard  of  her." 

"You  bet  he  did  !  "  said  Enoch,  "but  that's  neither 
here  nor  there." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Twombly,  "  that's  neither  here  nor 
there.  Well,  then,  after  a  while  Mr.  Peter  got  tired 
of  farming  and  concluded  to  sell  out,  and  he  did  sell 
out  to  you  and  to  that  other  gentleman,  and  you  two 
paid  for  the  property,  cash  down,  clean  and  finished, 
bargain  and  sale.  You  showed  me  your  papers,  and 
I  suppose  the  other  gentleman  could  show  his,  if  he 
was  here." 

"  Yes/'  said  Enoch,  "  but  that  farm  was  first  bought 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  413 

by  my  brother-in-law,  and  he  had  to  give  a  mortgage 
on  the  land.  This  was  took  up  and  paid  by  Mr. 
Stull,  who  now  owns  the  farm." 

"All  right/7  said  Mr.  Twombly.  "You  and  Mr. 
Stull  now  own  the  two  farms,  having  bought  and 
paid  for  them;  and  then,  somehow  or  other,  you 
hear  that  old  Tom  Brackett  had  other  nephews 
besides  the  aforenamed  Peter,  and  that  I  am  one  of 
them  and  my  brother  Ajax  the  other,  and  you  come 
out  here  and  put  the  whole  case  before  me.  Now, 
it  ain't  for  me  to  ask  whether  you  did  this  because 
you  was  so  touchy  honest  that  you  couldn't  sleep  in 
your  bed  till  you  knew  everybody  had  his  rights,  or 
because  you  thought  somebody  else  might  come  out 
here  and  make  a  bargain  with  us  and  so  get  the 
inside  track  of  you.  That's  what  I  haven't  got  the 
right  to  bother  myself  about." 

"  No,"  said  Enoch,  "  you  hain't." 

"  But  this  much  I  have  got  a  right  to  do,  and  that 
is  to  say  that  when  you  bought  that  farm  you  bought 
it,  and  when  you  paid  for  it  it  was  yours.  Now,  if  I 
and  my  brother  Ajax  have  any  rights  in  this  busi- 
ness, and  there  isn't  any  doubt  but  what  we  have,  our 
rights  are  in  the  money  that  Peter  Brackett  got  for 
those  farms,  and  not  in  the  farms  themselves,  which 
you  two  men  have  fairly  bought  and  paid  for." 

"  That's  not  the  way  the  law  looks  at  it,"  said 
Enoch.  "  Peter  Brackett  sold  what  wasn't  all  his." 

"That's  the  way  I  look  at  it,"  said  Mr.  Twombly. 
"Durn  the  law !  And  my  brother  Ajax  will  look  at 
it  just  as  I  do,  because  if  he  don't  I'll  break  his  back, 
and  he  knows  it.  Now,  sir,  we've  got  nothing  to  do 


414  THE   HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

with  those  two  farms  that  have  been  fairly  bought 
and  sold.  What  we've  got  to  do  with  is  the  money 
Peter  Brackett  got  for  them.  You've  told  me  where 
he  is  settled,  and  when  we're  ready  well  come  down 
on  him.  That's  our  business.  And  all  we've  got  to 
do  with  you  is  to  have  the  papers  made  out,  giving 
you  a  clear  title  to  your  farm,  as  far  as  I  and  Ajax 
are  concerned.  My  lawyer  here  will  attend  to  that, 
and  there  is  a  cowboy  in  town  who  is  going  to  start 
out  early  to-morrow  morning  to  the  ranch  where 
Ajax  is  just  now,  and  he'll  sign  them  and  send  them 
back  day  after  to-morrow.  And  if  that  Mr.  Stull 
wants  his  business  fixed  up  in  the  same  way,  all  he's 
got  to  do  is  to  send  his  documents  out  here  and  let 
me  see  for  myself  that  everything  is  all  straight,  and 
we'll  give  him  the  same  sort  of  title  as  we  give  you." 

Thereupon  Mr.  Twombly  and  Mr.  Bullripple  shook 
hands  on  the  bargain.  And  while  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  the  return  cowboy  with  the  signature  of 
Ajax,  Enoch's  host  drove  him  about  the  surrounding 
country  in  a  handsome  buggy  with  two  fast  trotters, 
showed  him  over  his  two  mills  and  his  store,  his 
stock-yards  and  his  stage-stables,  and  gave  him  to 
eat  and  drink  of  the  best  and  the  most  abundant. 

When  Mr.  Bullripple  returned  to  Cherry  Bridge,  he 
felt  that  he  now  truly  owned  his  farm,  but  that  he 
had  lost  his  opportunity  of  triumphing  over  Mr. 
Stull  and  Zenas  Turby.  It  was  true  that  he  had  pre- 
vented those  two  plotters  from  triumphing  over  him. 
Enoch  had  expected  more  than  this,  but  this  was 
really  so  much  he  felt  that  he  ought  to  be  satisfied. 
He  had,  indeed,  come  off  wonderfully  well. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  415 

But  there  was  a  minor  triumph  left  open  to  him, 
and  the  crafty  old  farmer  was  not  slow  to  avail  him- 
self of  it.  He  would  assume  the  position  of  the  bene- 
factor of  Mr.  Stull.  He  would  say  to  him :  "  You 
need  trouble  yourself  no  more  about  this  affair;  I 
have  been  out  West  myself  and  have  arranged  every- 
thing with  the  heirs  of  your  property.  I  will  tell  you 
exactly  what  you  have  to  do  in  order  to  make  your 
title  quite  secure.  I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  put 
you  once  more  on  a  sound  footing  in  our  part  of  the 
country;  and  this,  too,  without  any  trouble  or  ex- 
pense on  the  part  of  yourself  or  your  agents.'7 

Enoch  knew  that  this  would  be  very  hard  on  J. 
Weatherby  Stull,  whose  soul  would  naturally  scorn 
the  idea  that  it  was  possible  for  any  one  to  bestow  a 
benefit  upon  him,  especially  one  whom  he  hated  on 
account  of  injuries  conferred.  He  knew  too  that  by 
this  course  of  action  he  would  deal  a  heavy,  although 
an  indirect,  blow  at  his  old  enemy,  Zenas  Turby. 
Enoch  had  put  this  and  that  together  to  such  pur- 
pose that  he  had  become  convinced  that  Turby  was 
StulPs  agent  in  this  matter  of  the  Cherry  Bridge 
farms ;  and  that,  when  the  principal  should  be  made 
aware  that  the  whole  business  had  been  settled  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  his  agent,  the  latter  would,  as 
Enoch  put  it  to  himself,  "  ketch  fits." 

To  a  certain  extent  Enoch's  plan  was  quite  success- 
ful. When  Mr.  Stull  was  informed  of  what  had 
been  done  he  was  angry,  and  would  have  been  mor- 
tified had  he  not  attributed  the  failure  of  his  scheme 
to  the  stupidity  of  Turby,  who  was  summoned  to  New 
York,  and  who  did,  in  very  truth,  catch  fits. 


416  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Had  this  failure  of  a  well-planned  project  occurred 
a  month  or  two  earlier,  Mr.  Stull  would  have  been 
much  more  affected  than  he  now  was.  Other  plans 
and  purposes  had  failed  about  the  same  time,  and  the 
strong  mind  of  Mr.  Stull  was  rising  above  the  storms 
which  beset  him,  in  order  that  he  might  see  how  he 
could  take  advantage  of  them.  It  was  his  custom  to 
turn,  if  possible,  bad  fortune,  as  well  as  good,  to  his 
advantage.  When  he  discovered  that  his  ownership 
of  Vatoldi's  was  becoming  dangerous,  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  John  People's  intended  marriage  but  because 
of  his  daughter  Matilda's  possession  of  his  secret,  and 
her  opposition  to  a  Vatoldi  connection,  and  when  he 
found  out  that  Matilda  would  certainly  marry  Mr.  Cris- 
man,  with  or  without  paternal  consent,  he  was  at  first 
extremely  indignant,  and  afterwards  sternly  resolved. 

He  brought  his  mind  to  the  determination  that 
Vatoldi's  had  had  its  day,  and  must  be  put  behind 
him,  but  he  would  put  it  behind  him  in  his  own  and 
in  an  advantageous  way.  He  came  to  the  same  deci- 
sion concerning  his  daughter's  marriage.  Crismau,  he 
found,  was  a  man  of  good  character  and  fair  connec- 
tions and  of  more  than  the  average  business  ability.  If 
his  hard-headed  and  inflexible  daughter  would  marry 
this  man  she  might  do  so,  and  he  would  place  the 
couple  in  a  position  which  would  be  creditable  to 
himself  and  his  family,  and  in  which  Crisman  might 
rise  if  he  should  prove  equal  to  mercantile  soaring. 
Then  Mr.  Stull  would  put  Matilda  and  her  husband 
behind  him.  Another  object  grander  than  a  restau- 
rant or  a  daughter's  marriage  loomed  up  before  him, 
and  to  this  he  would"  devote  his  life. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  417 

When  John  People  was  informed  by  Mr.  Stull  that 
the  latter  had  decided  that  John  should  buy  out 
Vatoldi's,  the  young  man  was  frightened.  It  was 
too  much!  He  would  much  prefer  that  Mr.  Stull 
should  sell  out  to  some  one  else,  and  that  he  should 
continue  as  junior  partner  and  manager.  But  Mr. 
Stull  told  him  that  it  was  impossible  to  sell  to  any 
one  else.  The  transaction  could  take  place  between 
John  and  himself,  and  no  others.  The  terms  decided 
upon  by  Mr.  Stull  were  not  easy  ones.  John  was  to 
raise  a  certain  sum  in  cash,  and  pay  it  down  $  he  was 
then  to  make  payments  at  fixed  and  frequent  inter- 
vals both  as  interest  and  as  installments  on  the 
remainder  of  the  high  price  put  upon  the  establish- 
ment, which  would  make  it  necessary  for  him  to  do  a 
very  lucrative  business,  and  for  a  long  time  to  hand 
over  to  Mr.  Stull  a  very  large  proportion  of  his  profits. 

When  Miss  Burns  heard  of  Mr.  StulPs  purpose  in 
this  matter  she  was  not  frightened.  It  would  be  a 
hard  and  long  fight,  she  knew,  but  she  advised  John 
to  go  into  it.  In  fact,  she  decided  that  he  should  go 
into  it.  As  soon  as  the  transfer  of  the  business 
should  be  completed  they  would  marry,  and  then  she 
would  give  up  her  position  in  the  store,  and  enter, 
heart,  soul,  and  body,  into  her  husband's  business. 
She  would  sit  behind  the  desk  and  be  the  cashier, 
thus  saving  money  to  John  and  giving  him  the 
opportunity  to  be  in  all  the  other  places  in  which  he 
ought  to  be,  and  to  do  all  the  other  things  which  he 
ought  to  do. 

John  People  is  now  owner  of  Vatoldi's.  He  has  not 
paid  for  it,  and  it  will  be  years  before  he  does  so,  but, 


418  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

so  far,  he  has  fulfilled  all  his  obligations.  His  brow 
has  been  a  good  deal  furrowed  by  the  necessity  of  hard 
work  and  careful  calculation  in  order  to  do  this,  but  all 
signs  of  resignation  have  disappeared  from  it,  and 
have  been  succeeded  by  a  general  air  of  cheery  earnest- 
ness. His  wife  is  much  plumper  than  when  she  was 
Miss  Burns ;  sweet-breads,  lamb-chops,  and  all  the 
delicacies  of  the  restaurant  are  her  own  whenever  she 
wants  them,  without  a  preliminary  reservation  in  the 
corner  of  an  ice-box.  Mrs.  People  makes  her  son 
long  visits,  especially  in  the  winter,  when  there  is 
little  to  do  at  the  farm,  and  although  she  thinks  John 
the  most  fortunate  as  well  as  the  most  deserving  of 
men,  she  is  convinced  that  no  better  fortune  ever 
befell  him  than  when  he  escaped  the  clutches  of  that 
Stull  girl. 

There  is  one  great  change  in  the  Vatoldi  establish- 
ment :  Mr.  Stull  is  never  seen  there.  He  has  put  it 
behind  him.  The  restaurant,  however,  is  as  well 
managed  and  as  popular  as  it  ever  was. 

"  I  shall  make  it  a  rule,"  said  John  People  to  his 
wife,  "to  manage  that  place  exactly  as  if  I  expected, 
at  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  past  one,  to  see  Mr. 
Stull  walk  in  at  the  door  and  clap  his  eyes  on  every- 
thing on  the  premises,  from  a  spot  on  a  table-cloth  to 
an  overdone  steak." 

Thus  over  the  fortunes  of  Vatoldi's  hovers  the 
invisible  but  protecting  influence  of  J.  Weatherby 
Stull. 

The  good  fortune  of  John  People  not  only  bore 
heavily  upon  that  young  man,  but  upon  his  Uncle 
Enoch.  Mr.  Bullripple  entirely  approved  of  the  pur- 


THE    HUNDREDTH  MAN.  419 

chase  of  Vatoldi's,  although  he  fully  appreciated  the 
weight  of  the  load  that  it  would  lay  not  only  on  his 
nephew's  shoulders,  but  his  own.  John  had  not  been 
able  to  save  much  money,  and  in  order  to  make  the 
first  cash  payment  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be 
generously  helped.  To  this  end  Enoch  collected  every 
cent  that  he  could  possibly  gather  together,  and  put 
himself  under  obligations  to  Mr.  Stratford  for  the 
remainder  of  the  money  needed.  The  old  farmer  had 
no  fear  but  that  in  the  course  of  years  John  would  be 
able  to  pay  back  everything,  and  would  eventually 
die  a  rich  man.  If  his  nephew  had  desired  assistance 
in  order  to  enter  into  agricultural  pursuits  Mr.  Bull- 
ripple  would  not  have  lifted  a  finger  to  aid  him.  But 
he  had  great  faith  in  the  right  kind  of  a  restaurant. 

Miss  Matilda  had  most  truly  succeeded  in  her  vari- 
ous plans,  but  while  she  was  entirely  satisfied,  she 
was  not  elated.  She  had  expected  to  succeed.  She 
thoroughly  understood  her  father's  character,  and 
although  she  knew  that  it  would  be  utterly  impos- 
sible to  dam  or  stop  the  powerful  current  in  which 
his  nature  flowed,  it  was  quite  possible,  were  the 
impediment  wide  enough,  high  enough,  and  solid 
enough,  to  turn  the  stream  in  a  new  direction.  She 
could  be  such  an  impediment,  and  having  thrown 
herself  across  his  current,  suggesting  at  the  same 
time  a  change  of  channel,  she  was  not  at  all  surprised 
to  see  the  change  made. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter  Mr.  Crisman  and  Miss 
Stull  were  married  in  a  manner  entirely  suited  to  the 
social  position  of  the  bride.  To  these  proceedings 
Mr.  Stull  gave  a  lofty  and  dignified  assent.  The  ele- 


420  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

merit  of  interest  in  his  approbation  appeared  to  be 
but  moderate,  and,  entirely  contrary  to  his  previous 
record,  he  interfered  very  little  with  the  details  of  this 
important  family  occasion.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  no  feeling,  whether  of  apathy  or  disapprobation, 
could  have  prevented  him  from  taking  his  usual  place 
as  director  of  affairs  had  he  not  known  that  that  posi- 
tion had  been  assumed  by  his  daughter  Matilda. 

With  capital  furnished  by  his  father-in-law,  Mr. 
Crisman  entered,  as  a  junior  partner,  the  great  mer- 
cantile firm  of  which  he  had  been  an  employee,  and 
he  looked  upon  himself  as  in  every  way  a  most  for- 
tunate and  successful  man.  In  his  marriage  relation 
he  was  indeed  quite  fortunate.  From  the  very  begin- 
ning his  wife  set  herself  to  work  to  manage  him,  and 
in  order  that  she  might  do  so  without  trouble  to  her- 
self or  dissatisfaction  to  him,  she  also  set  herself  to 
work  to  make  him  happy.  Having,  by  diligent  study, 
made  herself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his  charac- 
ter, she  succeeded  admirably  in  both  these  regards. 

When  Mr.  Crisman  thought  of  that  love  affair 
which  antedated  his  engagement  to  Miss  Stall, —  and 
during  said  engagement  such  a  thought  did  some- 
times come  to  him, —  he  found  that  the  place  in  his 
sentiments  which  once  had  been  filled  by  this  love 
was  now  occupied  by  a  modified  form  of  anger,  which 
was  principally  aimed  at  a  want  of  respect  for  his 
opinions,  his  position,  and  himself  which  had  been 
exhibited  by  all  the  persons  with  whom  that  affair 
had  connected  him.  But  these  thoughts  came  less 
and  less  frequently  —  like  Mr.  Stull,  Crisman  was  a 
man  who  could  put  things  behind  him. 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  421 

When  the  powerful  current  of  Mr.  StulPs  action 
and  interest  had  been  turned  from  its  course  by  his 
daughter  Matilda,  aided  by  the  force  of  events,  she 
had  no  idea  of  the  new  channel  in  which  it  would 
flow.  No  one,  indeed,  except  her  father,  could  have 
had  such  an  idea,  and  even  he,  when  he  came  to  sur- 
vey and  fully  comprehend  the  nature  and  extent  of 
this  fresh  channel,  was  surprised  at  what  he  deemed 
its  importance  and  its  grandeur. 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  man  whose  pleasure  in  life  was  to 
be  found  in  lofty  flight.  Whether  he  soared  as  a 
restaurant-keeper,  a  social  and  church  pillar,  or  as  a 
financial  operator,  he  wished  to  fly  high  and  look 
down  on  his  fellows ;  and  his  strength  of  wing  was 
powerful  and  enduring.  There  were  some  flights 
he  could  not  take,  and  these  he  did  not  essay.  He 
would  have  liked  to  look  down  upon  railroad  kings, 
but  he  dwelt  upon  no  Andes,  nor  were  his  wings  of 
condor  size. 

He  had  long  had  in  mind  a  scheme  which  pleased 
him  much ;  and  for  some  years  he  had  thought  that  a 
great  part  of  the  fortune  which  he  intended  to  leave 
behind  him  should  be  devoted  to  carrying  out  this 
scheme.  But  now  his  purpose  was  changed.  His 
speculations  and  investments  had  been  exceptionally 
successful,  and  he  was  a  very  rich  man  much  sooner 
than  he  had  expected  to  be.  It  was  quite  possible  for 
himself  to  do,  in  these  vigorous  years  of  his  natural 
life,  what  he  had  expected  to  order  that  others  should 
do  after  his  death.  When  this  decision  had  been 
reached,  it  greatly  gratified  the  soul  of  Mr.  Stull. 
This  new  object  of  his  life  was  far  higher,  far  nobler, 
36 


422  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

than  anything  he  had  yet  touched.  It  would  give 
him  loftiness,  it  would  give  him  power. 

Mr.  Stull  determined  to  found,  create,  and  direct  a 
Law  Hospital.  He  had  never  studied  law,  nor  did  he 
pretend  to  understand  its  principles  or  practice ;  but, 
in  the  course  of  his  varied  business  life,  he  had 
become  acquainted  with  many  phases  of  its  effect 
upon  society  as  well  as  many  phases  of  its  relations 
to  the  ordinary  and  to  the  extraordinary  man.  Pon- 
dering upon  this  subject,  he  had  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that,  in  its  general  relation  to  mankind,  law  was 
to  be  looked  upon  in  the  same  light  as  medicine  and 
surgery.  If  the  latter  demanded  hospitals  for  their 
perfect  and  complete  practice,  so  did  the  former.  As 
the  means  of  amelioration  or  removal  of  those  evils 
against  which  the  powers  of  medicine  and  surgery 
are  directed  are  open  to  all,  so  Mr.  Stull  thought  the 
amelioration  or  removal  of  those  evils  against  which 
the  power  of  the  law  is  directed  should  be  equally 
open  to  all.  Therefore  he  determined  to  found  a 
Law  Hospital,  where  those  persons  who  were  unable 
to  pay  for  legal  protection  should  receive  it  as  freely 
as  the  ailing  poor  receive  medicine  and  treatment  in 
hospitals  of  the  other  kind. 

When  Mr.  Stull  undertook  an  important  enterprise, 
he  brought  his  strong  and  practical  intellect  to  bear 
upon  its  probable  disadvantages,  as  well  as  its  advan- 
tages, and  before  he  spoke  of  this  great  scheme,  he 
made  himself  quite  ready  to  meet  any  objections  that 
might  be  urged  against  it.  When  persons  came  to  him 
and  said  that  such  an  institution  would  have  a  very 
bad  effect  upon  the  poor,  for  it  would  encourage  them 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  423 

to  be  quarrelsome  and  go  to  law,  Mr.  Stull  rose  easily 
above  the  objectors  and  replied :  "  There  is  no  more 
reason  to  suppose  that  than  to  suppose  that  the 
ordinary  hospital  encourages  sickness  or  broken  legs 
among  the  poor.  It  will  be  almost  impossible  for  a 
sham  or  unworthy  case  to  get  into  my  institution. 
There  will  be  a  Board  of  Examiners,  composed  of 
high  legal  talent,  who  will  investigate  every  applica- 
tion, and  if  there  are  not  good  grounds  for  taking  it 
into  the  courts  it  will  be  rejected ;  but  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  shall  be  found  to  be  based  on  good  grounds, 
it  will  be  carried  through  to  the  very  end,  to  the  very 
end,  sir;  if  it  should  be  the  case  of  a  brakeman 
against  a  millionaire,  it  will  be  carried  through ; 
you  may  be  sure  of  that.  And  then,  again,  sir,  it 
will  prevent  a  great  deal  of  litigation.  There  are 
lawyers,  sir,  who  take  up  unjust  cases  for  clients 
who  are  unable  to  pay,  in  hopes  of  sharing  in  unjust 
advantages.  My  institution  will  greatly  assist  in 
putting  an  end  to  such  practices.  The  fact  that  it 
never  takes  up  an  unjust  case  will  shine  as  an 
example,  sir,  and  those  who  are  unjustly  proceeded 
against  will  find  in  my  Law  Hospital  a  strong  ally 
in  defense.7' 

Mr.  Stull  was  a  vigorous  upholder  of  strict  justice. 
He  was  not  generous,  he  was  not  forbearing,  he  had 
not  a  kindly  spirit.  His  present  enterprise  was  in- 
tended as  much  to  defeat  and  humble  the  unjust  rich 
as  to  assist  the  oppressed  poor.  If  he  could  have 
legally  revenged  himself  upon  Enoch  Bullripple  he 
would  have  done  so  gladly  ;  and  had  he  seen  another 
person  oppressing  the  old  farmer  in  a  perfectly  legal 


424  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

way  lie  would  have  had  no  disposition  to  interfere. 
Furthermore,  what  he  did  for  the  advantage  of  man- 
kind must  carry  out  some  of  his  own  practical  ideas, 
and  must  be  of  advantage  to  himself.  These  condi- 
tions he  fully  expected  the  Law  Hospital  to  fulfill. 

In  the  first  place,  it  would  give  him  power  and 
position.  By  its  aid  he  might  be  enabled  to  take  an 
occasional  flight  above  the  head  of  even  a  railroad 
king.  There  was  no  station  which  would  please  and 
suit  him  so  well  as  that  of  the  Founder  and  Director- 
in-Chief  of  the  great  institution  he  intended  to  estab- 
lish. Then,  again,  he  expected  his  Law  Hospital  to 
become  a  source  of  profit.  It  would  be  an  admirable 
school  of  practice  for  young  lawyers  who  would  pay 
fees  for  this  advantage,  and  who  would  not  only  be 
supervised  by  the  body  of  high  legal  talent  who 
would  direct  the  operations  of  the  institution,  but 
would  receive  from  said  body  much  valuable  assist- 
ance and  instruction.  The  vast  resources  of  the  Hos- 
pital would  be  open,  not  only  to  the  poor,  but  to 
those  who  would  be  able  to  pay,  and  its  strictly 
regulated  charges  and  prompt  and  vigorous  methods 
would  prove  a  great  inducement  to  persons  who 
would  hesitate  to  place  themselves,  in  the  power  of 
unrestricted  and  irresponsible  legal  advisers. 

The  scope  of  this  institution  was  a  very  wide  one. 
It  would  be  a  great  Law  School ;  the  decisions  of  its 
Board  of  Examiners  would  meet  with  such  high 
regard  that,  in  time,  it  would  come  to  be  looked 
upon  almost  in  the  light  of  a  court  of  law ;  it  offered 
to  the  poor  the  legal  redress  of  wrongs ;  and  to  all 
men  it  would  afford  the  opportunity  of  obtaining  the 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  425 

assistance  of  the  law  of  the  land  in  a  systematic, 
economic,  and  perfectly  practical  and  business-like 
manner. 

And  it  would  enable  this  generation,  and  in  all 
probability  many  generations  hereafter,  to  read  on  a 
marble  slab  in  the  great  entrance-hall  the  name  of  its 
Founder  and  first  Director-in-Chief,  J.  Weatherby 
Stull. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 


S  the  winter  months  went  on,  the 
Goddess  Hygeia  did  so  truly  touch 
with  her  wand  the  fair  Gabriella 
Armatt    that    this    young   person 
bloomed    out   in    full  health  and 
vigor  j    and  when  the  jonquils  in 
the  little   yard   in  front   of  Mrs. 
Justin's  town  house  forced  their  tender  blossoms  into 
the  uncertain  air  of  spring,  they  were  greeted  with 
no  happier  eyes  than  those  of  Gay. 

Our  heroine  was  not  one  who  had  put  things  be- 
hind her.  In  her  life  it  had  seemed  as  if  certain 
things  had  pushed  her  before  them,  and,  remaining 
stationary  themselves,  had  gradually  faded  from  sight 
as  she  went  on.  That  first  young  love,  which  had 
grown  to  be  a  true,  conscientious,  but  anxious  affec- 
tion, had  not  gone  on  with  her.  She  had  now  begun 
a  new  life,  and  it  was  a  life  without  that  old 
affection. 

If,  in  those  melancholy  days  in  the  past  year  when 
she  seemed  to  be  left  alone  in  the  world,  her  soul  had, 
half  unconsciously,  looked  towards  Horace  Stratford 
with  vague  feelings  other  than  those  of  friend  to 
friend  or  scholar  to  master,  those  feelings  existed  no 
more.  Her  new  life  had  begun  without  them.  When 

426 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  427 

Stratford  looked  upon  her  now  he  saw  not  that  cer- 
tain something,  that  sympathetic  stamen  which  at 
times  springs  suddenly  from  a  woman's  heart,  and 
which  had  made  her  perfect  in  his  eyes  ;  she  was  his 
friend,  loyal  and  warm  j  she  was  his  disciple,  earnest 
and  trusting ;  but  on  her  face  that  certain  something 
never  appeared  —  for  him. 

The  effect  upon  Arthur  Thorn e  of  his  love  for  Gay 
was  somewhat  surprising,  even  to  himself.  He  had 
thought  it  would  change  him,  make  a  different  man 
of  him,  but  in  fact  it  produced  in  him  but  little 
change  that  was  radical.  His  tastes,  his  strict  regard 
for  the  proper,  and  his  conscientious  views  of  duty  to 
himself  and  society,  still  remained  upon  the  solid 
foundations  on  which  they  had  always  stood,  but  into 
his  nature  had  come  a  warm-hued  liberality  of  feeling 
which  was  born  of  his  admiration  for  Gay's  nature. 

Gay's  nature  was  a  strong  one  and  fully  animated, 
and  it  would  have  had  its  influence  upon  any  man, 
but  it  could  not  put  into  a  man's  nature  what  was 
not  there.  With  Crisman  she  would  have  failed 
utterly,  but  in  the  warm  radiance  of  her  influence 
the  colors  came  out  in  the  nature  of  Arthur  Thorne 
as  the  bright  spots  and  brilliant  hues  appear  upon 
the  wings  of  a  moth  as  he  draws  their  somber  folds 
from  his  cocoon  into  the  bright  light  of  day. 

As  to  Gay's  aspirations  and  the  life-work  to  which 
she  had  looked  forwards,  these  two  young  people, 
from  having  widely  different  opinions,  came  to  think 
alike.  When  Gay  started  on  her  course  of  advanced 
study,  she  had  not  definitely  fixed  her  mind  upon  the 
special  path  in  life  to  which  this  study  was  to  lead 


428  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

her,  but  she  had  determined  that  she  would  do  some- 
thing which  should  satisfy  her  ambition  and  be  of 
service  to  other  people.  She  had  no  notion  that  one 
whit  of  her  work  in  college  and  afterwards  should  be 
wasted.  She  was  to  be  something  which  should  be 
worthy  of  herself,  of  her  instructors,  and  of  those 
heights  of  knowledge  to  which  she  hoped  to  climb. 
Even  when  she  became  engaged  to  Crisman  her  ideas 
did  not  change,  although  by  the  counsel  of  Mrs.  Justin, 
and,  subsequently,  by  the  influence  rather  than  by 
the  direct  advice  of  Stratford,  she  modified  them.  She 
would  put  her  intellect  in  perfect  training  before  she 
decided  on  what  field  she  would  send  it  forth  to  do 
battle.  Even  the  academic  degree  to  which  she 
directed  her  course  was  looked  upon  more  as  a  guid- 
ing-point than  an  object ;  she  might  never  claim  it, 
but  if  she  made  herself  worthy  of  it  her  intellect 
would  be  well  trained. 

When  Gay's  purpose  of  study  was  made  known  to 
Arthur  Thorne  during  the  days  he  spent  at  Cherry 
Bridge,  he  was  very  much  opposed  to  it  and  talked 
a  great  deal  to  Mrs.  Justin  about  it.  He  believed 
that  when  any  one  entered  upon  a  course  of  earnest 
endeavor,  it  should  have  a  fixed  and  definite  object. 
If  the  young  lady  intended  to  devote  herself  to  any 
branch  of  philosophy,  science,  or  literature,  she  should 
concentrate  her  energies  upon  those  studies  which 
would  prepare  her  for  her  future  work.  When  he 
became  engaged  to  Gay  this  idea  of  the  limitation 
and  concentration  of  her  energies,  even  at  her  present 
stage  of  progress,  was  still  in  his  mind.  But  when 
the  two  had  talked  over  the  matter  they  came  to 


.THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  429 

think  alike.  Arthur  still  believed  that  earnest  study 
should  have  its  object,  but  he  soon  understood  that 
Gay  had  an  object,  and  his  soul  expanded  itself  to 
appreciate  its  beauty  and  value.  He  agreed  with  her 
that  the  conviction  that  one's  intellect  has  been  well 
cultivated  is  a  sufficient  reward  for  the  labor  of  the 
cultivation. 

They  would  work  together, — there  could  be  no 
doubt  about  that, —  and  if  the  time  came  when  they 
felt  they  were  able  to  do  something  for  the  world 
which  in  a  degree  would  repay  the  world  for  what  it 
had  done  for  them,  then  they  would  do  the  thing 
which  they  believed  they  best  could  do.  If  their 
young  ambitions  led  them  truly,  they  would  not  only 
penetrate  to  the  head- waters  of  thought  and  knowl- 
edge, but  they  would  lend  their  services  towards 
clearing  out  their  channels  and  digging  down  into 
their  sources.  But  if  ambition  led  them  not  so  far, 
they  would  stop  when  they  could  feel  content  that 
they  had  fulfilled  the  duty  they  owed  their  intellects, 
and  had  done  their  best  to  qualify  themselves  to 
think  and  act  and  live. 

There  is  no  danger  that  they  will  flag  in  this  pro- 
jected career.  They  are  strong,  earnest,  and  enthu- 
siastic ;  and  in  Stratford  they  will  always  have  a  wise 
and  steadfast  friend  and  backer.  Their  life-work 
and  their  life-love  will  go  on  together,  and  the  one 
will  not  be  interfered  with  by  the  other. 

Gay  and  Arthur  were  married  in  the  time  of  early 
roses ;  and  then  they  went  away  and  wandered  joy- 
ously, coming  back  when  the  peaches  were  ripe  and 
the  juice  of  the  grape-clusters  was  beginning  to  turn 


430  THE  HUNDREDTH 

red  and  purple.  Then  it  was  that  Mrs.  Justin  invited 
the  young  couple  to  her  house  at  Cherry  Bridge,  to 
which  Stratford  still  came  over  from  the  Bullripple 
farm  on  most  of  the  days  of  the  week.  These  holi- 
days of  Gray  and  Arthur  could  not  last  much  longer, 
for  in  the  early  autumn  they  must  go  into  the  city 
and  begin  the  life  they  had  marked  out  for  them- 
selves, which,  for  Arthur,  would  not  be  a  very  easy 
one,  for  it  was  necessary  that  his  professional  labors 
should  keep  pace  with  every  other  kind  of  work  or 
study. 

They  made  good  use,  therefore,  of  this  pleasure- 
time,  and  Gay,  knowing  the  country  better  than  her 
husband,  generally  acted  as  guide  and  suggestor. 
She  took  him,  at  the  close  of  a  day,  through  the 
sugar-maple  grove  to  the  little  eminence  where  they 
could  sit  on  the  top  rail  of  the  fence  and  see  the  sun- 
set glories  of  the  western  sky.  They  rowed  upon  the 
creek,  and  it  was  astonishing  what  a  memory  Gay 
possessed  for  sunken  trees,  shallow  places,  and  sharp 
turnings.  She  guided  Arthur  into  the  tributary 
stream  overshadowed  by  the  forest-trees,  and  they 
stopped  at  the  spot  in  the  heart  of  the  woods  where 
all  seemed  quiet  and  motionless  save  the  dragon-flies 
and  the  flecks  of  sunlight  on  the  surface  of  the  pool, 
and  where  a  spreading  and  low-hanging  grape-vine 
formed  a  water-arbor  under  which  a  little  boat  might 
lie.  Now  the  air  bore  not  the  perfume  of  the  tender 
blossoms  of  the  vine,  but  the  wild  grapes  hung  dark, 
though  not  yet  ripe,  from  under  their  broad  leaves, 
and  Gay  could  put  up  her  hand  and  touch  them. 

One  morning  the  two  were  sitting  together  on  a 


THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN.  431 

rustic  bench  on  the  lawn.  Gay  held  a  book  in  her 
lap,  on  the  blank  leaf  of  which  she  was  making  a 
sketch,  not  from  nature,  but  from  her  imagination. 
Arthur,  one  arm  on  the  back  of  the  seat,  watched 
with  ardent  interest  the  rapid  growth  of  the  drawing. 
They  were  in  the  shade,  but  all  the  air  was  -full  of 
light.  Gay  was  very  lovely  that  day.  She  wore  a 
morning  gown  of  pale  blue,  the  front  generously 
draped  with  white  soft-hanging  lace  which  ran  away 
in  graceful  lines  into  the  folds  which  lay  about  her 
feet.  The  wide  brim  of  her  hat  was  lined  beneath 
with  light  blue  silk,  which  threw  a  subduing  influ- 
ence upon  the  golden  tints  which  always  seemed 
ready  to  break  out  in  the  masses  of  hair  beneath  it, 
and  extended  its  shade  over  the  fair  face,  now  slightly 
bent  towards  the  drawing.  Upon  the  crown  and 
broad  straw  brim  of  this  hat  were  clusters  of  apple- 
blossoms,  which  lay  as  naturally  as  if  it  had  been 
spring-time  and  they  had  just  dropped  there  from 
some  tree. 

Mrs.  Justin  and  Stratford  were  standing  upon  the 
piazza  looking  at  the  young  people  on  the  lawn.  It 
was  a  charming  picture  and  well  worthy  their  con- 
templation. 

"  Now,  sir,1'  said  the  lady,  u  there  we  see  the  full 
fruition  of  your  work.  Are  you  satisfied  with  it  ? n 

"  I  am/7  he  answered.  "  It  was  good  work.  And 
are  you  yet  fully  content  ? " 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Justin,  "I  believe  I  am.  You 
know  it  was  hard  for  me  to  be  content,  but  I  am 
beginning  to  see  that  events,  as  you  controlled  them, 
have  resulted  in  great  good." 


432  THE  HUNDREDTH  MAN. 

Stratford  made  no  answer.  If  he  had  spoken  from 
the  depths  of  his  heart  he  must  have  said  that  great 
good  indeed  had  resulted  from  what  he  had  done; 
great  good  to  Gay,  great  good  to  Arthur,  and  even 
good  to  that  first  lover,  Crisman  ;  good  to  every  one, 
except  himself.  For  in  the  fight  he  had  fought  he 
had  been  hurt  —  he  had  conquered,  but  he  had  been 
hurt. 

The  essence  of  Mrs.  Justin's  nature  was  loyalty, 
loyalty  to  past  affection,  loyalty  to  present  friend- 
ships, and  it  was  the  ardent  earnestness  of  this  senti- 
ment which  threw  into  her  friendship  a  sensitive  and 
perceptive  sympathy.  Stratford  said  nothing;  but 
she  saw  in  his  face  something  of  what  he  thought. 

"  My  friend,"  said  she,  laying  her  hand  upon  his 
arm,  "could  you  have  loved  that  girl?" 

"  Yes,'7  said  Stratford,  "  I  could  have  loved  her." 

Mrs.  Justin  looked  at  him  intently  for  a  moment, 
and  then  she  said  :  "  Horace  Stratford,  I  believe  that 
you,  yourself,  are  the  hundredth  man  you  have  been 
looking  for.'7 

An  expression  of  surprise  came  into  the  face  of 
Stratford,  and  then  he  smiled,  but  the  smile  did  not 
last  long.  "  If  you  think  so,"  he  said,  "  I  accept  your 
decision,  and  my  search  is  ended." 


THE  END. 


<?<?£ 


